Betrayal
by babesrus2
Summary: What happens when you are accused of something and it turns out that a friend was the accuser? Not Morelli friendly. A Babe HEA
1. Chapter 1

**My muse dug her way out of the snowbank. Thanks for all the hot chocolate and cookies you electronically dropped off. She is such a drama queen. **

**Thanks Jenn (financebabe). I sent her an email asking for financial clarification as I am not too sure of your tax laws. Hopefully your tomorrows are better than your yesterdays, Jenn.**

**Thanks Megan (Megz17). I hate how you have used the yellow highlighter as much as you have but truly appreciate the help. I've been told it is better than Red!**

**Happy first day of spring, everyone.**

**Oh, and Janet owns all the recognizable characters.**

Chapter 1

It was a dark and stormy night (I always wanted to start a story like this!).

Rangeman control was quiet. Shift change had come and gone. The lights were in the dimmed position as per the new protocol. There was confirmed medical evidence that lights at full strength for the day shift and dimmed for evening and night shifts had proven to be easier on the employees when it came to varied shifts and rotations. It seemed such a small thing, but the human body appeared to embrace lighting changes that followed the world outside.

Credit for that new protocol had gone to Stephanie. She had been taking more of an interest in the day to day activities of Rangeman. She had a new attitude. She had progressed from performing searches and distractions only to add assisting with clients and contracts. She was taking university credit courses in criminology and justice and she had nearly completed her certificate in Justice and Crime.

Stephanie no longer worked for Vinnie. She dropped in to see Connie and Lula now and then, but her life was busy. She would combine a visit with picking up Rangeman files. Lula was now taking the low bond files and was doing a good job. She would partner with a Rangeman if something or someone became too difficult. Rangeman still took on the mid to high range files.

Stephanie had moved into Rangeman almost seven months ago. Ranger had been called on a mission and his last request before leaving was that she move onto seven and let her rat trap of an apartment go. They had committed to try a relationship a few months earlier and Stephanie relented and moved in the day he left. Everyone at Rangeman heaved a sigh of relief. She would be better protected there and they did not have to expend manpower staying outside her apartment anymore. They could also work on her fitness and healthy eating levels if she were in the building. Ranger was gone three months. Upon his return he saw the new and improved Stephanie.

She now carried her gun on her hip at all times and had another hidden in the small of her back. She also carried a knife at her ankle. She could run eight miles without effort and no member of Rangeman tried to sneak up on her anymore.

The last man who had tried was still on reduced duty. He was healing from a bruised sternum and a broken foot.

Danny limped to the water fountain. He was overly brash, sometimes immature and acted like the little brother they all had dreaded growing up.

Ranger had taken a chance on him. He had performed very well on his last mission as a member of Ranger's team and he had asked Danny Machocha to consider Rangeman when he got out. Two months after Ranger had returned home, he received a call. Danny wanted out and asked if there was a job for him at Rangeman.

Tank had interviewed him and had given his approval. He was young... very young, but did he ever know his way around electronics! He had already patented and sold his remote control racing boat designs to a major toy manufacturer and his bank account was very healthy with quarterly payments continuing to arrive.

Danny settled back into the chair by the monitoring screens. His eyes glanced from picture to picture. He leaned forward and pressed some keys. One of the four screens on monitor A enlarged to full size. Danny scanned it quickly. He pressed more keys and the four screens re-appeared. The computer then automatically brought up four more accounts.

Junior was sitting at the other bank of monitors. He looked at Danny. Danny shifted in his chair.

"I thought I saw some movement at Riley's Jewellers. It was only the wind whipping the cloth awning. By the time this storm ends, it will be ripped and hanging on the ground. "

Junior nodded. He turned back to his monitors again. Nights like this had the men on monitor duty on edge. Tree limbs could fall on or against buildings and send the sensitive equipment to alarm status instantly. Window panes would flex in the wind and send off false signals. Unfortunately, this was also the time that criminals were the most active. Thinking that nobody would be out in this weather, they mistakenly believed that it was an opportunity not to squander. The vehicle patrols were usually very busy on nights like this.

Two hours left until they would have a break for supper. Ella had just left after refilling the coolers and crock pots with food. The men had smelt the wonderful aromas as Ella pushed her cart past them. They toyed with sneaking into the room after she left for a quick bite. Unfortunately, Ranger and Stephanie had not left the floor yet and they dared not to even think of bringing food to the control room.

Ranger had a sixth sense anytime someone had tried it. You were allowed one warning, which included a visit with him on the mats. A second infraction meant instant dismissal. It was harsh, but everyone knew the rules. Ranger was anal when it came to food near the equipment. He needed the systems up and running and not down due to spilled drinks or particles of food in the keyboards.

Everyone understood the rules, including Stephanie. Her love of food was legendary and not too long ago she had been caught by Ranger eating a peanut butter and olive sandwich as she walked through the control room. He had firmly taken her by the hand and walked into his office. The door closed. The men were curious. Was there a double standard here? Suddenly, they heard a loud noise. Then another, and another. The men looked at each other.

The door opened. Stephanie stepped out. Her face was red. She walked to her cubicle. She carefully sat down and turned on her computer.

Nobody said a word. Five minutes later Ella came into the room. She was holding a small cushion. She took it to Stephanie and gave her the pillow and a hug. She grinned as she left the room. She figured she would be getting a call from Ranger requesting a special meal and dessert for her.

~~~o0o~~~

The time inched along. Junior would check a screen and then relax. They fielded a few nuisance calls to the patrols and continued to watch. The patrols started to trickle in. They would stop for something to eat then head out again.

One alarm rang. Zero and Tiny were in the neighborhood. They were quickly dispatched. Danny watched the outside camera as they pulled up. Two adolescent boys came streaking out of the door and tried to wriggle their way past. Quickly they were subdued and cuffed. One look at Tiny and the youngsters stopped their struggling.

Tiny was every bit as wide as Tank, but he was also almost seven feet tall. Everything about Tiny was large. From his size 15 footwear to his 6XL extra, extra long shirts. Everything had to be specially ordered.

Tiny grabbed both the boys by their cuffs in one massive hand and crab walked them backwards to the Escape. Zero already had the door open and the would-be burglars were quickly buckled in and shackled to the floor in the back seat. The doors closed and the SUV headed for the police station.

Ranger and Stephanie stepped out of his office. She took her laptop and placed it in her cubicle. Ranger strode over to the men. He quickly looked at the screens. He murmured. "Ugly night. Keep your eyes peeled."

Both men nodded. Ranger walked to Stephanie's cubicle. He leaned again the wall. "Ready, Babe?"

She smiled. Standing up, she slipped her small hand into his large and calloused one. She sidled up to him and leaned against his chest. She put her lips to his ear and whispered. Ranger's eyes changed and his breathing hitched.

They headed for the stairs. The stairway door closed. Danny and Junior could hear them racing up the stairs. Suddenly Stephanie shrieked. The men looked at each other.

"He's a lucky bastard."

They both shifted uncomfortably in their chairs.

The control room phone rang. Junior grabbed it first. "Rangeman."

Zero was on the line. "Pull up the camera feed from our vehicle. Is Ranger there?"

Junior grumbled. He hated to disturb Ranger when he left the floor. This better be good. "No, he just went up to seven."

There was silence on the line. Zero could be heard muttering to Tiny. He was trying to decide how important it was. Could it wait until morning?

"I think he will want to see the tape. Do you want me to call him?"

Junior sighed. It was his job. He would do it. He hoped it was as important as Zero inferred. "No, my job, my call."

Zero spoke again. "I don't know whether to take them to Rangeman or TPD."

Junior hung up. He made the call.

Ranger picked up. "Yo."

Junior spoke. "Zero asked me to call you. He wants you to see the camera feed on the two kids we just picked up. They were in Abercrombie's house on Taylor. Zero and Tiny can put them in the holding cells if you want or they can go to the station. Cal's standing by for guard duty."

Ranger pondered. "Send it up to my computer here."

Junior found himself listening to a dial tone.

Zero and Tiny came onto the floor. They both headed to the break room and each filled a plate with stew, salad, carrot and celery sticks and a slice of home made whole wheat bread. They headed for a table and started to eat.

Ranger walked into the break room. He took a cup of black coffee and headed for their table. He sat down. Zero and Tiny kept eating. They only had 20 minutes and then had to take over for Danny and Junior on the monitors so they could eat.

Ranger watched them shovel the food in their mouths. He sipped his coffee and thought about the tape he had just viewed. This could be trouble. He hated that he had lost his gang informant.

Hector was on long term disability. He was on four convalescing. Someone had taken issue with his sexual preference. He had been ambushed and left for dead. His memory was improving but so far all he could remember was being cornered by a group in black wearing hoods. He had put up a good fight but the numbers were too many to escape from. Thankfully he was wearing his personal panic button. Rangeman had found him and got him to the hospital. There was some fear that his work outside Rangeman might be over. He might never again be able to lift heavy objects. There was enough work inside Rangeman that he would never need worry but Hector was fighting the possibility that his active and gang lifestyle might be over.

Rangeman was tracking clues as to who had done the ambush. They were slowly narrowing it down. They hoped to have an answer very soon. Hector's family had been notified but they felt safe in their neighborhood. Just in case, a Rangeman vehicle stayed close by.

~~~o0o~~~

Zero and Tiny leaned back. Ranger put down his coffee cup. He had already warned Danny and Junior they might be delayed a few minutes from getting supper relief.

"I saw the feed. How serious were they? Their attitude seemed like a couple of punks with just a sliver of information."

Zero spoke. "I've picked up these punks before, Ranger. They seem to have glommed onto some information and are trying to save themselves from Juvie time. They didn't cause any damage to Abercrombies."

Ranger nodded and stood up. He pulled out his phone. He pressed a number.

"Tank, I know you're off tonight but I need you to meet me at the holding cells in 20. We might have a situation and I need your special input."

**As always, reads and reviews are appreciated. **


	2. Chapter 2

**Wow. Thanks for all the reviews. Selfish me asks you to keep them coming. I can only gauge how this is going if you tell me. **

Chapter 2

Joe rubbed his hands together in glee.

"I've got him now. I have been waiting three years for this. "

He looked around the tiny room. He checked out the interior, a move he had performed hundreds of times. He carefully looked for any telltale signs that someone had invaded his personal privacy. He had wires that were so small that they would be almost unseen to the naked eye. He had a camera that would record anyone stepping foot in his own personal hideaway. He religiously checked for intruders each time he came downstairs which he carefully armed by fob each time upon his departure.

In all the times that Stephanie had stayed at his place she had never stepped foot in the basement of his house. There were spiders there and she had absolutely refused to go downstairs. He had re-positioned the washer and dryer onto the main floor in the back porch. Stephanie had hugged and kissed him when she had seen the renovation. She had then properly thanked him, again and again that night. Joe had a difficult time concentrating on his job the next day.

That had been nine months ago. His bed was lonely without her. He missed her. The boys missed her. Bob missed her. He had to 'make due' with Terry, Robin, Mary, Melody and Sally, but who was he kidding. He wanted his Cupcake. He hoped she would soon be back in his arms.

He dreamed of her greeting him at the front door each night, heavy with child, or child in her arms. He wanted her to have a home cooked supper on the table waiting. He wanted the house in sparkling condition welcoming the head of the household home with slippers placed at the door ready for his sore and abused feet each evening, a drink by his chair, and the tv remote his to control.

Joe looked at the pictures, and the notes. He smiled. He had never shown anyone this secret room. There were no windows to peek into, and the door was always kept locked.

On the walls were pictures of Stephanie, Stephanie and Manoso, Stephanie and any one of his company of thugs, Stephanie in the alley of the Plum Bonds Office, Stephanie driving one of Rangeman vehicles, Stephanie beside another burning car.

Joe balled up his fists. He hated to be embarrassed. Well, he would have the last laugh. Death would be too good for that thug. He wanted him put away like the mad dog Joe believed he was.

Joe had met Melody on a case. Her husband had been killed by a drunk driver. He had visited her home a number of times in the course of the investigation and one thing led to another. He was a master manipulator and had wormed his way into her arms, her bed, and eventually into her confidence. Melody was a junior accountant and worked in the accounting firm that Rangeman hired to manage their corporate business accounts. She had managed to access Rangeman's corporate business information.

Joe remembered all the times Stephanie had muttered in her sleep. "Comedy relief; Line item in my budget; listed under entertainment; love you in my own way; love comes with a condom, not a ring."

Joe started to chuckle. He had checked with his contacts and informants. She was holed up in his building on Haywood. Was she keeping his bed warm?

She had let her apartment go some time ago. Stephanie was now driving a Rangeman vehicle for personal use. Was that not taxable benefits? Was she being paid extra for acting very unprofessionally bringing in FTA's? Was she paying the appropriate taxes, or paid under the table?

Melody had served her purpose. Once Joe had copies of all the documents he wanted, he had ceased contact with her suddenly. She had driven to his house one night wanting an explanation. Joe had been awakened from a deep sleep. He had stumbled to the door with his gun in hand. Terry was standing at the top of the stairs dressed only in his button down shirt. Melody took one look at the scene in front of her and ran crying to her car. She had burned some serious rubber pulling away from the house. Most of his nosy neighbors had witnessed the departure.

Joe laughed. It was dark and ominous.

~~~o0o~~

Stephanie groaned. She put her head on the conference room table and sighed.

Ranger rubbed his hand gently up and down her back soothingly. He murmured in her ear. "You didn't moan like that last night."

He caught her hand in his as she took a swipe at him. Stephanie sighed and leaned back in her chair. "I'll never get pineapple upside down cake ever again if she hears anything about this."

Ranger looked at her. "Babe, people know you do distractions. Why the difference this time?"

Stephanie looked at him like he was from Mars. "But it was always done on a local level with people from the Burg. This is not a local take down. Whole different set of rules here Ranger. It's an outside influence here and people might not understand."

He looked at her. To him it did not seem at all logical, but Burg logic was completely irrational at times.

Ranger chuckled. "I'll get Ella to make you as many cakes as you want, Babe."

Roly Baron stopped talking. He looked at the pair with a stare a Grade 2 teacher sends when their charges are misbehaving, again.

Tank snickered. Ranger sent his legendary glare his way and Tank coughed nervously. He was still aching from their early morning mat session. Tank had pissed off Ranger. He had been caught on tape sneaking in McDonald's to his office late at night. He was late for his shift and hadn't taken the time to eat it off site. He was not overly excited about a repeat encounter so soon.

It wouldn't have been so bad but he had been trying to fix things with Lula. Lula was angry at Tank for his inability to want to commit to a relationship.

Ranger and Stephanie sat up straight. This was supposed to be a serious matter.

Roly paused for emphasis.

"Perry Manson is wanted for Industrial Terrorism, Crimes Against the Government, Forgery, and possibly murder of a government official. I cannot overstate that we want to apprehend this person without incident or unwanted press. Trenton Police has not been advised. We do not want the information leaked and are taking the appropriate precautions."

Tank spoke up. "How many men do you need in addition to your task force?"

Roly looked at his notes. "I believe we can make do with three or four of you along with Miss Plum. If she feels safer, your men can be in the nightclub and my men will be stationed outside. Our informant believes that he will be there sometime after 9:30 tonight."

Stephanie spoke up. "How does he like his girls: goth, slutty, dirty slutty, professional slutty, or girl next door?"

Roly looked at his notes again. His face reddened. He appeared to embarrass easily discussing the female gender. "Actually his tastes lean to lots of leg, cleavage and tight clothes. He wants a bit of a ditzy personality. His pattern includes a drink or two, feeling them up a bit then convincing them he likes to play that he is the boss. He has control issues. He keeps a choke collar in his pocket. He likes them subservient. That will be your signal that he is ready to leave. He'll slip it over your head and lead you out. We'll grab him outside the door and have him out of the way right away. You fit his type. Brunette, blue eyes, good physique."

He looked at Ranger. "If you want to be in the room, you can be her handler. He's used to dealing with a third party."

Ranger growled. He was getting a very bad vibe from the whole thing. He looked at his Babe. "It's your call. We can protect you, but I am getting a bad feeling about this."

Stephanie shrugged. She felt safe knowing that her Merry Men would be in the club with her. She would get the target out of the club and the Feds could take him down. She had seen the amount of money that they were willing to pay Rangeman. It was worth a bit of time, some distraction moves and maybe a bit of touching. Nothing she had not done before, right?

She looked at Roly. "I will do it, but... We get paid that night. You give it to Ranger. Our people are all wired. I will be too. We will have a com van outside manned by our people and everything is recorded. I want this to go down properly. "

Roly nodded. The sooner they got Perry off the street, the better for everyone.

Under her breath, Stephanie muttered. "What can go wrong? "


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks for the very interesting reviews.**

Chapter 3

Brett and Manny headed down the hallway to their apartments. It had been a busy night out on patrol. They bumped fists and turned to their apartment doors.

Out of the corner of their eyes they spied something creeping down the hallway. They drew their weapons and inched toward the creature. The weird looking thing stopped moving and turned to them. It turned what looked to be a head and stared at them. It shook its head as if to clear its thoughts. Brett walked closer. Manny stayed back. He was ready to shoot the shit out of it if it made any sudden moves.

Danny walked out of his apartment. He had a remote control controller in his hand. He was watching intently and did not see the men. Finally he smiled. He walked up to it and picked it up. He looked up and saw the men staring. His smile faded as he saw the weapons in their hands.

"What the hell is that?" asked Manny. Danny looked down at his toy and smiled.

"This is my newest invention. I am trying to develop something that is small enough to go into a confined space. It has a tiny camera that can send back images what it finds. I have a few things to work out. The legs get caught on rugs right now and the head doesn't swivel very well. I'm still working on a name."

Brett came closer. He looked at the prototype. "Why not put it on wheels or tracks? That would save the legs catching on flooring material."

Danny looked down. "I tried that but it was too heavy. With legs, I could maneuver better. I have one leg that still drags a bit."

Brett and Manny turned around. They needed sleep. Manny looked back.

"Do not let that thing into my apartment. I will shoot it," threatened Manny. He hated arachnids.

~~~o0o~~~

Ranger was sitting in Tank's office. They had been discussing the meeting with the two boys last night. After Tank had let himself into the holding cell, the boys started to sweat. They were thoroughly cowed by dealing with Tiny and now Tank. They both knew of Tank's reputation on the street. All he had had to do last night was to come into the holding cell and lean against the wall by the door. He had his arms crossed over his massive chest. He had just shaved his head. His eyes were the color of steel.

Ranger walked into the room. The boys gulped. They looked from Ranger to Tank and back again. Ranger scared them even more. This was the mighty Manoso. They had heard all the stories. They had seen him in action and members of their gang bore scars from trying to cross him. He came across as immune from threat.

The boys were handcuffed and shackled to the chairs. They squirmed uncomfortably. They looked at each other. Gang initiation was not worth it if you were dead. Would their bodies ever be found? Would they scream like little girls? One looked down. He prayed he would not embarrass himself.

Ranger walked closer. He put his hands on the table and leaned over. He was fully dressed. His eyes bored into the boys eyes. They were powerless to maintain eye contact. They both looked down at the table. They gulped.

Ranger smiled slightly at the sign of submission then tightened his features. He spoke with authority.

"You broke into an account my company monitors. That was a very, very stupid thing to do. Do you have any idea what we could do to you? Nobody knows where you are. You may have some issues walking into the police station without help. You tried to escape. You tried to hurt my men. You did not show my men the respect they deserve. My men have served their country with pride. What have you done? You steal under cover of darkness, during a storm. You have no pride."

The boys were now shaking in fear. They shuddered and kept their eyes down. They were just a couple of punk kids with too much time on their hands.

Ranger looked at Tank. He nodded.

Tank stood up. He walked around to the back of the boys' chairs. They hunched their shoulders in fear. He stood behind them. He barked. "Look up. Act like a man."

The boys slowly raised their eyes. They looked at Ranger.

Ranger spoke. "I am still deciding whether to drag you to the police station and let you rot for awhile. This is your third offense this year. The judge advised you that the third time you show up in Juvenile Court you go to Juvie for a long time."

The boys slid down in the chairs as far as they could until the restraints stopped their retreat.

Ranger spoke again. "You were mouthing off pretty good in my vehicle. I have a tape of your smart ass remarks. I want to know what you meant by them."

The boys looked at each other.

Ranger barked. "NOW!"

A silent communication ensued. Derek and Dominic seemed to come to a mutual understanding.

Derek spoke. "That's what we heard on the street, dude. Someone has been talking it up with the gangs and promising serious green for information. "

Derek felt hot breath by his ear. Tank growled as he leaned down. His voice was low but heard by both boys very clearly. "You do NOT call him dude. You WILL call him Mr. Manoso, or sir. You have not earned the right to even think of calling him Ranger."

Ranger spoke once again. "You both have shit for brains. But, I will let you go on one condition. I want more information. I want a name. I want details. I want answers. I will give you a phone number. You will find out what I want and call the number. This is your one Get Out of Jail Free card and it has a rapid expiry date. Use it wisely."

Ranger walked out of the room. Cal came in and released one boy. Tank freed the other.

Tank gave each boy a card. There was only a phone number on it.

Tank spoke again. "Cal will drive you to a McDonalds. You can get a ride home from there. It is in your best interest not to mention our little agreement. We have not sent the tape to TPD, yet. You have 24 hours."

Cal shoved the boys out of the room. He motioned them down the hallway to the garage, pointed to a vehicle and opened the back door. They climbed in. They took one look at Cal and quickly put on the available seat belts. Cal slid behind the wheel. Binkie was standing watching. He climbed in last. He turned with his back to the dash, hand on his Glock and a feral smile on his face. The garage door opened and they drove out.

~~~o0o~~~

Joe wandered around his house. Bob whimpered at the back door. He needed out and his master was not listening to his cries of desperation.

Finally, Joe acknowledged Bob's need. He opened the door and Bob raced out. He did his business and lay down in the yard. He was unsure what the matter was, but he did not want to come back into the house. He loved Joe dearly but he had been acting very strangely lately. Bob lay his head on his paws.

Joe continued to pace the main floor. He was clenching and unclenching his fists. His face was a myriad of emotions. He would smile, then grimace, then clench in anger. He believed he was close to his objective. He had gleaned some information and was wondering how he could use it to his advantage.

Unfortunately he had come to a dead end with Rangeman's accounts. Everything was handled with squeaky efficiency. Nothing was gray enough to be able to make anything stick in a court of law. Joe growled. It had been too easy. He had pinned all his hopes on finding something illegal to tag him with.

Joe sat down at the table. He needed to go at this a different way.

Those words kept replaying over and over again. Entertainment, condom, budget. He pounded his hand on the table. He had his new angle.

One of his contacts had observed his Cupcake shopping. What she was looking at made Joe believe that she was getting ready to work a distraction for Manoso. That little blood vessel on the side of his head was starting to pulse. He had heard what the outfit she had taken into the dressing room looked like. He had a mental picture of it. She would look like a whore on the prowl in that.

His woman would never again wear such an outfit. He would make sure of that. His plan was coming together. He could almost taste victory. All he was waiting for was the word to put his plan in place.

~~~o0o~~~

Stephanie came out of the mall. She had a number of shopping bags in her hands. Lula was gesturing and talking a mile a minute. Today she was dressed in polka dot spandex with streaked black and white hair. On anyone else it would have presented a hideous sight, but for some unknown reason it suited Lula.

"After all that, I need at least a bucket of fried chicken and maybe an apple pie turnover, Girl." Lula rubbed her stomach. "This voluptuous body is wasting away with all the walking you made me do."

Stephanie rolled her eyes. Lula needed no excuse for food and today was no different. "Lula, if we stop, can we only get a box instead of the bucket? I have to fit into this dress tonight and eating chicken will not help me at all."

Lula looked at her friend. "You can get whatever you want, Girl. The bucket was going to be for me. I'm not in a sharing mood right now. That salesgirl insinuated that I had no fashion sense. She has no idea what I do all day."

Stephanie wisely kept her mouth shut. Lula was a friend and her feelings were hurt easily. "Tank loves you just the way you are. He has told us both that he likes his ladies large. He cares about you Lula."

Lula growled. "That man and I are not seeing eye to eye right now. My momma told me a long time ago that a man needs to step up to the plate if he wants to hit a home run. So far, I am not feeling the love and if I'm not feeling it, he ain't gittin it."

Lula crossed her arms over her ample chest and looked out the car window. Stephanie clamped her mouth shut. This seemed the perfect time to practice driving in ones' own personal zone.

Stephanie dropped Lula and her food off at the bond office. She stepped inside to see if there were any files for Rangeman.

Connie was sitting at her desk filing her nails. She had three kinds of red nail polish lined up perfectly on her blotter. A phone was tucked into her ear held by her shoulder. She was speaking in an exasperated tone.

"Betty Sue. The last time I came down there to bail you out, we had trouble getting enough for your bond. What makes you think this time will be different? Oh, Ok, if your mom is there I guess I will come. I'll be there as soon as I can."

Connie placed the phone on the desk. She continued to file and buff. She looked at the three bottles and chose one. Carefully she started to apply a coat over one of her talons. She spoke without looking up.

"You better save me a piece in that bucket, Lula."

Lula grudgingly put the food on the corner of the desk. Stephanie sat in the straight backed chair by the filing cabinets. She had a small salad in her hand. She grimaced as she forked a mouthful.

The ladies made short work of their meal. Finally everyone came up for air. Lula was licking her fingers from the apple pie turnover sugar crumbs. She shook herself and sugar flew off her significant assets.

Stephanie stood up. "I have to go. Do you have any files for Rangeman?"

Connie shook her head. "Brett came by earlier."

Stephanie smiled. Connie and Brett had started to go out together the odd time. First it had been a drink, then later dinner and a movie. Brett was very shy. He was not known to rush into things. She hoped that Connie would wait him out. He was a nice catch. She loved all her Merry Men and wanted them happy.

Connie, on the other hand, had been known to love 'em and leave 'em. Stephanie wondered at her new direction. Was she looking for something permanent? Her Family had been putting pressure on her to find a man. Daddy wanted grandchildren.

Connie stopped Stephanie at the door. "Something's starting to rumble, Steph. The Family's been hearing of questions being asked about you and Ranger. Nobody has heard anything definite, but someone is asking questions around town. I thought you might like to know."

**Thanks for reading and reviewing. I'll post again on Monday. **


	4. Chapter 4

**Thanks you for all the reviews over the weekend. I promise to get back to you and thank you today. **

Chapter 4

Stephanie came out of the bedroom to find Ranger working in his office. She sidled up to him and leaned into him. Ranger closed his computer and looked up. His breath caught. His heart skipped a beat. His eyes changed.

Her hair was hanging down in a slightly wild look. She had applied smoky grey eye shadow, three coats of mascara for courage and luscious red lip gloss, inserted big hoop earrings in her ears and she was wearing a spaghetti strap silk blouse that started low and ended high. She had glued some skanky rhinestones around her belly button. Her pencil thin skirt was molded to her body and ended mid thigh. There was a moderate slit up the side. She was wearing fishnet stockings and Ranger glimpsed a garter. She was wearing impossibly high 4 inch FMP's.

Stephanie licked her lips seductively. She sashayed to the door. She stopped and looked back. "Coming?"

Ranger cleared his throat as he stood up. He adjusted himself. That woman would be the death of him. He wondered if he would have to use his fob and scramble every camera in the building soon. His men were mere mortals, after all.

~~~o0o~~~

Tank was on the phone. He had just received a call from the punks. They had heard something else and had passed on the tidbit of information.

Tank hung up and made a note in the file. He had added Connie's note earlier in another. He was worried; the natives were restless. He continued to have a real bad feeling about tonight. He hoped that Ranger and Stephanie knew what they were doing.

He had already booked Bobby and Les and himself as customers in the nightclub. Ranger would appear to be on his own. Woody was tending bar and Ram was on the door. Roly would have his team spread out outside. They were as well covered as they were going to get.

Tank was nothing if not pro-active. He had all the wires ready for them to wear. In addition, he had secretly installed a number of cameras covering the main bar area. He knew the owner and had received permission for the installation. He had not seen the need to advise Roly of that fact. As per usual, the Feds liked to keep some details to themselves. Well, so did Rangeman.

Donnie and Caesar would be in the com van. Tank had briefed them very carefully. He needed audio, and video tape. He wanted full coverage of everyone in the room.

Ranger helped Stephanie into the Turbo. He waited until she had buckled her seat belt then roared out of the garage. The com van had already left. Bobby and Les would leave in a few minutes and Tank had hitched a ride with Roly.

Ranger pulled up to an open spot in the parking lot. He turned off the car and leaned back. He tried to control his thoughts. Once again his Babe was heading into an unknown situation. They always tried to prepare themselves for any eventuality but this one just seemed off.

Stephanie was checking her face in the visor mirror. Ranger was checking himself out in the rear view mirror. He was wearing his hair tied back in a pony tail. He was wearing a very big diamond stud in his ear. Around his neck was a thick silver chain which was easily seen through the three open buttons on his gunmetal gray silk shirt. He was wearing black jeans with a wide belt. His feet were encased in shined up white alligator boots. He felt damn ridiculous.

Ranger hated that he was not in charge of the take down. This was a very high dollar operation and the federal government was adamant that he be taken soon. Unfortunately, it all hinged on his Babe. She would have to be very, very convincing tonight. He had all the confidence in the world that she would be able to handle any part of the distraction, but there was always that one little thing that could take a simple mission and completely FUBAR the expected conclusion.

He was not happy that Roly wanted him inside. He preferred to stay outside so that he did not have to view Stephanie and the moves she needed to use to persuade her mark to leave. Les and Bobby could handle inside so much better. They had observed the Bomber in action many times and instead of feeling uncomfortable at her actions, were amazed at her acting ability.

Ranger mentally checked his weapons. He was unsure about accepting the money tonight. Usually they would just put through an account transfer but Stephanie did not trust Roly enough and wanted the whole thing processed tonight.

~~~o0o~~~

Joe prepared himself to place the call from the burned phone he had purchased. He had travelled to Newark a few days earlier and had worn a disguise. He had walked into a small mom and pop convenience store and had bought the cell phone with sixty minutes of talk time. His plan was coming together.

He called the Trenton Police Department. He tried to disguise his voice as he spoke.

" At the Prim 'N Parrot tonight there will be a young lady trying to solicit favors from unsuspecting men. Her pimp will be in attendance and handles all the money. She is brunette, about 5 foot 7 inches with blue eyes. She is a danger to unsuspecting men and should be stopped. She is carrying and passing on diseases and should be handled with extreme care. "

Joe hung up quickly as the young officer on the desk answering the phone started to question him. He did not want to get into talking too much.

Joe rubbed his hands together. Hopefully vice would put something together in time. Brian Smith would be on duty tonight. He was a good cop, but had aspirations of grandeur. He wanted to be an inspector and would leap at the chance to get a quick and easy collar.

Joe believed that the burg grapevine would be very active. The papers would get their teeth into the whole mess. By the time it was all straightened out, Rangeman's reputation would be questioned and hanging in tatters. Their scary looks combined with questionable tactics would ensure that Manoso's business would soon fail. People would initially question Stephanie's actions but then reason that she had been required to put on the act as she was an employee of Rangeman.

Joe smiled. He had remembered how many times Stephanie had groaned that she was only a line in his budget. Well, this would be very entertaining before it was done.

Joe wanted to believe that with Manoso and his thugs out of the way, Stephanie would return to his arms. He would be the supporting friend and offer to take her back into his life, and eventually his bed. He could almost feel her under him, moaning in his ear.

His pants tightened. He felt the need for release. He mentally reviewed his go-to's. Robin was at work, Terry was at her uncle's home. Mary was visiting a friend. That left Sally.

He phoned her number. Sally was a cocktail waitress at the Blue Diamond. He loved it when she came to serve him at his home wearing her uniform. He placed his order. She was just coming off shift and would spin by on her way home.

~~~o0o~~~

Ranger looked around. All his and Roly's men were in place. Everyone was mic'd and the com van was ready. Everyone knew their job but he still had a nagging feeling. Ranger looked at Tank. He was feeling the same unease. It was not too late to abort this mission.

Ranger followed by Tank went over to Roly. Roly was on the phone speaking in a gruff tone. They waited for the call to end. Ranger and Tank stood quietly. Their eyes searched the parking lot looking for a reason for their unease. Roly ended the call.

"Our mark is on his way. I hope everyone is in place. It all depends on how fast Ms. Plum can get him relaxed enough to get him out. I hope she is on her game tonight. "

Ranger nodded. He saw Stephanie sitting in the car making last minute adjustments to her makeup.

"I want to change the procedure a bit. I don't want the money handed to me either by the mark or you to give it to me tonight. I'd feel better if you wire or courier it like normal. It's just one more thing to have to worry about keeping track of. Besides, then Rangeman will have an official receipt of the delivery."

Roly considered the remark. He nodded and took the envelope from his inner jacket pocket. He gave it to an assistant.

Ranger stepped away. Everyone was preparing last minute details before the take down. He called for com checks. Bobby, Les, and Tank answered .

"Target pulling into the parking lot." That was the signal everyone had been waiting for.

Bobby and Les were heading into the club and they nodded at the doorman and walked through. Ranger waited by the com van. He watched as the mark exited the car and walked to the door. Perry talked to the doorman and slipped some bills into his palm as they shook hands. He looked around cautiously before heading inside.

Everyone waited patiently. Timing was everything. They needed Perry to find a seat and order a drink. He liked to look around and check out the ladies. Stephanie would make her entrance in a few minutes and she wanted him to see her come in.

Ranger walked over to the car. He opened the door and held out a hand. A long leg emerged. She glided out of the car. Stephanie knew how to make an appearance. Ranger gave her a quick hug as he reached behind her and turned on the mike.

He mouthed to her ear. "Go get 'em, Tiger." Ranger walked away and into the club. Tank waited two minutes then followed.

Stephanie squared her shoulders and The Bombshell emerged. Her manner changed. She turned to walk to the door and the doorman. She sashayed up to him, leaned in with a hand brushing his cheek and whispered in his ear. Ram grinned and gave her a gentle kiss on the cheek opening the door.

Stephanie could make an entrance. She stopped at the door and perused the room. She used the time to make sure that every male in that room saw her. She licked her lips seductively and swung her hips as she walked to the bar. She found a stool two down from her mark. She sat down. The slit on her skirt opened up slightly and the red garter peeked out.

Stephanie spun around and put her elbows on the bar. She leaned back slightly. Her hair hung down almost touching the counter. Anybody looking at the glassed mirror behind her could see her breasts pushing up enticingly over the silk shirt.

Stephanie sat upright and spun her stool around, now facing the bar. Woody came over when she lifted her arm and enticed him over with a finger wave.

He wiped the counter in front of her. "What's your pleasure, doll?" He asked.

Stephanie looked at the vast selection of bottles. "How about a margarita to start?"

Woody smiled. He would make it look good, but Stephanie was a real lightweight when it came to alcohol. He would make her a virgin drink.

Once again, Stephanie spun her stool around. She appeared to be appraising all the male candidates in the club tonight. Perry watched her with hooded eyes. She literally eyed each table. She looked at Les. He smiled and prepared to stand up. She literally dismissed him. He looked shocked and sat down, dejected.

Stephanie checked out more tables. Some she looked at longer than others. Finally, appearing to not see anything or anyone she was interested in, she started to check out the counter. Perry watched with bated breath.

Stephanie set her eyes on him and kept them there. He smiled. He rose to his feet and brought his drink closer. He sat down by her side.

Stephanie took the drink Woody had placed on the counter sliding her finger just under the salt rim. She appeared to check him out through the mirror. Perry laughed to himself. He knew what she was doing. He did the same thing himself. It appeared that if he played his cards right, he might have someone for the evening. The roll of bills were ready.

Stephanie finally gave him her attention. "What brings a handsome man like you out tonight?"


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Perry chuckled. He loved the back and forth exchange of opening introductions. He could sense that the vision of beauty beside him was a player. He hoped she would eventually play with him.

Perry spoke. "Needed a bit of entertainment this evening. I had a boring day and wanted a little fun. What about you, sweet cheeks?"

Stephanie internally shuddered. She would need a very long and hot shower at the end of this to erase the creepy feeling she had near him. Playing the part, she purred.

"I hate to be alone. I love finding big, strong men who can take care of me the proper way. Right now my life sucks. My former boyfriend was the meek and mild type. He wanted me to initiate eeeeeeeeverything. Sometimes a girl just wants to be told what to do by a man who knows what he wants. You know what I mean?"

Perry grinned. This evening was getting better and better. He could feel the collar in his pocket. It seemed to be singing her praises and it was not even on her neck yet. He needed to feel her out a little more before he made his move.

"Well, first of all what's your name? Everything starts with a name."

Stephanie smiled coyly and held out her hand. "Well, handsome, my names Sasha. My FORMER boyfriend used to call me Sexy Sasha."

Perry smiled. He held her hand in his.

Stephanie thought it felt like a dead three day old fish, but she smiled.

"So, I can't call you handsome all night. What's your name?"

Perry was still holding her hand in his. He caressed the top of her hand with his free hand. "Call me Perry."

Stephanie gently pulled her hand out of his grasp. She picked up her drink and took a big swallow. She glanced at the mirror and saw Ranger gripping his beer. It looked like the bottle would break from the tension any moment.

She seductively slid her leg over and caressed his. His breathing hitched. She leaned into him and pressed her breasts against his shoulder. She could feel the flabbiness of a soft body. Her face took on a wistful look. "I miss a big strong man. I feel so adrift and just can't make a decision anymore. I need someone to step up and take care of me."

Perry was starting to sing her praises to himself. He looked at the dance floor. There were a few couples dancing. He looked at her then at the dance floor and said, "then how about you let me lead." Stephanie slid off the stool and waited for him to guide her toward the music. He took her elbow in his hand and led her to the floor. He put his hands around her waist and pulled her to him. He began to sway, grinding himself against her.

Stephanie followed his lead, matching him move for move. She never initiated any individual moves and he smiled. She really was just a puppet and he revelled in the responsibility as puppet master. They danced a couple of songs and Perry was ready to leave. He had found what he was looking for tonight.

They headed back to their seats. Stephanie thought Perry looked like he was ready to take this further. She glanced at him and taking in his almost empty drink downed hers. Leaning closer she grazed her lips on his ear. He straightened up. She whispered. "I'm so very lonely, Perry. I want a man to do dirty things to me all night long."

Perry's breath changed again as she nuzzled his ear some more. He whispered. "Let's get out of here. Too many eyes. The night is young. Let's see if we can see the sunrise together."

Perry caressed her neck with one hand. He whispered. "Do you trust me?"

Perry put his hand in his pocket. He pulled out the chain. He looked at her. She pretended to consider then nodded and he slipped the chain over her head.

Perry gulped his drink. He stood up and grasped her hand. He gently pulled her off the stool. He whispered in her ear. "Let's get out of here. Do I need to talk to a handler?"

Stephanie looked around as if hunting for someone. "No, but he will follow us and take me home when I leave."

Perry led her toward the front door.

All of a sudden there was a lot of shouting. The doorway was filled with two burly police officers in full gear. Above all the uproar, a voice boomed.

"This is the police. Everyone stay where you are and remain calm."

Stephanie looked at Ranger. He looked as shocked as she felt. Something had gone terribly wrong. She recovered quickly. She nestled into Perry's side and whimpered. "Perry, what's going on baby? I'm scared."

Perry looked around, desperate for an escape route. He felt cold sweat running down his back. He had a gun on him, but there was way too much manpower to attempt something. He tried to think of escape scenarios. Finding nothing, he considered his options. He could use the bimbo as his passport to freedom.

Just as he was about to reach for the weapon, a police officer came up to Stephanie. He grabbed her by the arm. He was wearing protective gloves.

Stephanie did not know the man. She knew most of the older members but the last few months she had not been at the police station and was unaware of any new hires.

She looked at him in confusion.

"Miss, I'm asking nicely that you come with us. I don't want any trouble."

Ranger came to her side. Another officer also wearing gloves put his hand on Ranger's arm. "Sir, I'm asking that you come too."

Ranger and Stephanie looked at the officers. "What's the charge, officer?" Ranger asked. The men continued to have a firm hold on both of them. They were spun around and rapidly cuffed with their hands tightly locked behind them. The officers then put a spit mask over Stephanie's face. Ranger was patted down and relieved of all his weapons.

One officer looked at Stephanie. "You are being charged with Prostitution and Aggravated Assault." The other officer looked at Ranger. "And you are being charged with Living Off the Avails of Prostitution."

**A/N Aggravated Assault – Knowingly passing STD's/HIV**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

They were rapidly marched out the door. Stephanie could hear cell phone cameras clicking madly as they made their way outside. She struggled helplessly. What the hell was going on here?

A police van was parked by the door. They were hustled into the back and locked down. The van pulled away. Stephanie was shackled to a metal bench on one side of the van and Ranger was locked down on the other.

The trip was short but they never broke eye contact. Tears were running down Stephanie's face, staining the mask. Ranger growled helplessly. He strained at the restraints. All too soon the van stopped and the back door opened. They were roughly hustled into the station and put straight into separate holding cells.

Stephanie sat down on the chair. Her wrists felt chaffed from the tight cuffs. The choke collar weighed heavily on her neck. Tears threatened again but she bravely held them back.

Minutes passed. Finally, the door opened. Brian Smith came into the room. Stephanie looked at him and her temper exploded.

"What the hell is going on Brian? You arrested me for Prostitution? What's my mother going to say? Can you imagine the phone calls going out right now?" Stephanie's voice had risen to a shriek.

Stephanie lay her forehead on the table. Brian stood by the door. He contemplated leaving her in the cuffs. He felt safer, somehow.

He blanched. Not only was Stephanie on the hook here, so was his career. What had started out as an easy take down was turning into a real mess. He unlocked Stephanie from the cuffs. She ripped the mask off her face and threw it onto the floor. The choke collar was flung against the wall.

"I had no idea it was you and Ranger until you got to the station. The guys who grabbed you were new and very eager to do their job."

He pulled out his cell phone. The door opened and Ranger stalked in. His face was blank but his eyes were the color of obsidian. He walked to Stephanie and pulled her up into his arms and gave her a hug. He whispered in her ear.

"Are you OK Babe?"

Stephanie nodded. She leaned into his chest and sighed. "I know that the phone at my parent's house will be ringing off the hook. I can never set foot in the neighborhood again. "

Brian waited. He received a call. He spoke into the phone then hung up.

"Tank is here with your lawyer. I don't think we need to go that route, but I do need to talk to you. Can we move this to the conference room?"

He opened the door and walked out. Tank was standing outside the room with Rangeman's lawyer. His name was J. J. Jamieson and it looked like he was going to be earning every penny tonight.

Brian led the way to the conference room. A number of Trenton's finest watched. Someone had royally screwed up.

Tank closed the door and everyone took a seat. Ranger and Stephanie sat close together. She was starting to tremble so he pulled her from her chair and sat her in his lap holding her tightly to him. Ranger suspected that Stephanie was getting close to an adrenaline crash. He looked at Tank. Tank stood up and left the room. He returned with a can of coke and a donut and put them down in front of her.

Stephanie looked at Tank and thanked him with her eyes. She took a big bite of donut as Ranger popped the tab on the pop. She downed the coke greedily and finished the tasty treat. Gradually she started to relax.

J.J. cleared his throat. He had his briefcase open on the desk. He had a pad of paper and a pen in front of him. He looked at Brian. "What the fuck is going on here?"

Brian cleared his throat. What had started out as a simple take down was rapidly turning into a mega sinkhole. He could feel his career collapsing around his ears.

"We received a tip that a person with Stephanie's description would be in that club tonight. It was pointed out that you were out trolling for a mark. The voice said that you were carrying and passing on a number of communicable diseases and your pimp would be in attendance. "

Ranger had his blank face on. Tank spoke up.

"Didn't you get a bead on the personnel outside? Didn't you check what was going on before busting in?"

Tank and Brian were in a staring match. Brian looked down first.

"In our defense, we were unaware you were planning this. Usually Rangeman lets us know something is going down and we stay the hell away unless we are asked to assist. I wasn't even there."

Eyes flashed around the room. Everyone was trying to control their anger. There was a knock on the door. Brian stood up and walked to the door and opened it. He opened the door wider as Roly walked in.

Roly flashed his badge and introduced himself. He took a seat by the door. Ranger looked at Brian. He was inquiring with his eyes if Brian would repeat the apology.

Roly looked at Ranger. "We got Perry even though it turned out to be a real clusterfuck. Les and Bobby grabbed him as he was sneaking out the back door. He is in our custody and already on the way to New York. I will send your fee by the usual manner."

He stood up and walked out the door. Everyone looked at the closed door. He had not offered any information, or any request to help. It appeared that Rangeman and Stephanie were on their own to clear their names.

Ranger shook his head in disgust. He vowed it would be a long time, if ever, that he helped that branch of law enforcement again.

Brian cleared his throat. "I have cleared your file here. I unfortunately cannot do anything about the press. You will be page one in the paper tomorrow. The editor did not see my point of view on this matter. He said the readership can make up their own minds. "

Ranger stood up. Tank and J. J. were by the door. The door opened and they walked out.

Ranger looked back. "This is not over. I want a copy of that tape."

They left the building by the side entrance. Tank climbed into the driver's seat of his Hummer and J.J. climbed into the passenger seat. Ranger pulled Stephanie into the back seat and put her seat belt around her. She slumped against Ranger. He put his arm around her and gave her a hug. Silent tears slid down her face. She turned her head and looked out the window. She hated to have the guys see her cry.

No words were spoken until they arrived in the garage. Ranger unhooked them both and escorted her to the elevator. He looked back at Tank. "I want the core team in Conference Room C in 30." He fobbed the elevator and it rose quickly to seven.

They walked out the door and into the apartment. Ranger stood at the door and watched as Stephanie walked numbly to the bathroom, shedding clothes as she walked. Ranger's heart ached for her. Her ritual after a distraction usually included a long and hot shower but he figured she needed a bit of comfort food after what she had just gone through. He phoned Ella. She promised to have something special up soon.

Stephanie closed the bathroom door and turned on the shower. She climbed in and started to scrub herself raw. Everywhere Perry had touched her felt dirty. The reminder of the cuffs on her wrists and the fact that the police had forced her to wear a spit mask bothered her more than she had acknowledged to anyone. She was determined to drain the hot water tank. Finally she ran out of energy and hot water and turned off the tap.

She stepped out. There was a pile of soft, fluffy towels on the vanity. She had her choice of Ranger's fluffy robe, or one of his t-shirts and a pair of her panties. She chose the t shirt and panties and put them on. She wrapped her hair in another towel and wandered out. She wanted a drink.

On the counter in the kitchen sat a tray. Curiosity got the better of her and she started to lift lids. In spite of the situation, she smiled. Ella had made her home-made mac and cheese, with a piece of pineapple upside down cake on another plate. There was a dollop of whipped cream on the side. There was also a plate of fruit under another cover. The fruit was positioned in a way that it appeared there was a smiley face looking up at her.

She sniffled a little. As bad as it was, she knew she had a whole building of supporters. She sat down and ate.

~~~o0o~~~

Ranger had discarded his own disguise and was now dressed in his typical Rangeman uniform. The pile of clothes was kicked into a corner. He would get Ella to dispose of them.

He was pacing in the conference room. Tank had just played the recording that had come from the station. The men's faces were blank, but their demeanor spoke volumes. Their hands were clenched under the table or gripping the chair arms.

Like it or not, there was a threat here. Not only had they tried to smear Stephanie's reputation but Rangeman also.

It was a well know Burg fact that Stephanie did distractions for Rangeman. She had suspected in the past that at the police station there was an on-going betting pool on her clothing choices and length of time needed to get the mark out of the establishment.

So, what had changed? Had someone mentioned something so despicable on the street that any successes were now looked on with distain?

Tomorrow would probably blow up in their faces.

Ranger spoke. "I need the calmest men on the phones tomorrow. I want the patrols to stay at Rangeman unless we get an alarm. This is not going to blow over in a day or so. Rangeman will be targeted with insults, innuendo and ridicule. I hope we survive."

~~~o0o~~~

Joe checked the time again. He gripped the beer in his hand a little harder. He put one of his hands down and patted Bob on the head.

Joe was sitting on the couch watching t.v. He had put in a dvd of one of his new favorite boxed sets of old shows. Tonight he was watching Leave it to Beaver. He smiled at the family interaction. Ward was the ultimate head of the household. All final decisions were run through him. He doled out money as needed for everything from groceries to penny candy. HIS word was law. HIS woman stayed at home and looked after the house and the children.

Bob put his head on Joe's leg and Joe hypnotically rubbed his ears. He was reliving some of the episodes and fitting in his wish for the future as he saw it.

Joe smiled as he turned off the tv. He could see himself in that role. He was ready to assume the mantle of responsibility.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Joe sat at the kitchen table with his coffee cup in his hand. The morning newspaper was spread over the table and Joe was chuckling as he read every article and looked at all the pictures.

His plan was coming together. Now he just had to wait. He firmly believed that his cupcake would be in his arms soon.

He looked at the picture on Page 1. He could see both Manoso and Stephanie in handcuffs being placed in the security van. Her hair was wild, her clothes rumpled. He chuckled as he spied the spit mask.

Joe looked at Manoso. His face was blank, but even with the grainy picture anybody could see the anger in his eyes. It amused Joe to no end.

He stood up, took his empty coffee cup to the sink and rinsed it out. He put it in the new dishwasher he had just installed and headed to the front door.

Bob was sunning himself in an early morning sunbeam and accepted the head pat. He watched as Joe walked out the door. Bob sighed heavily. This was not the Joe he loved. Bob felt he was living with a stranger and that man scared him.

Joe pulled up at the police station and swung off his bike. He walked into the building and heard the comments as he walked down the hall. Copies of the newspaper were scattered everywhere, on desks, chairs, counters, and stapled to the bulletin board in the staff room. Joe joined Big Dog, Eddie and Robin who were talking in the back.

Carl strode up to the group. "I hear Brian is on Administrative Leave. He is absolutely livid. I guess his plans to become the next inspector have gone sideways on him."

The group nodded in agreement. He was not exactly a friend, but an officer in distress was a concern to everyone.

Joe picked up a coffee from the staff room and headed to his office. He sat behind his desk and looked at the number of files in his in-box. He pulled the first one to him.

~~~o0o~~~

Stephanie stirred. She was alone in the king sized bed. She looked at the clock. It was 0900. Ranger had probably been gone for hours. She remembered he had slid into bed with her late last night. She sighed and curled into his body as he held her to his chest. Tonight was a night for comfort only. Finally sleep came to them both.

Stephanie slowly climbed out of bed. She headed for the bathroom and turned on the shower. She noticed the clothes she had worn last night in a pile in the corner. She picked them up and dumped them all in the wastebasket. Never again would she wear anything from that outfit.

She showered and changed into her Rangeman uniform. She had no desire to leave the building today or to turn on her cell phone. She could just imagine the messages on that phone.

Ella had already been in the apartment and had left breakfast. She lifted the lid and found pancakes with strawberries and whipped topping. She polished off the meal and prepared to head downstairs. She made sure she was fully dressed. Living and working in the secure building did not allow her immunity to the rules of being armed at all times.

Stephanie stepped off the elevator. The control room was quiet. The cubicles were all occupied with men hunched over their desks or computers. There was an air of seriousness she had rarely encountered.

Stephanie headed to Ranger's office. She knocked softly on the door jamb and peeked in. Ranger was at his desk, Tank was sprawled in a chair with Bobby and Les standing off to the side.

Ranger looked up. His eyes smiled and he motioned her to come in. She headed for the other chair but Ranger motioned for her to come to him. She walked to his side. He pulled her onto his lap, nuzzled a spot behind her ear, breathed in her tantalizing scent and sighed.

The others watched. She was his center and he needed all the control he could get today.

Tank had a file on the desk in front of him. He had just been updating Ranger, Les and Bobby on the business status so far. In the space of time since the paper had been delivered, Rangeman had already been advised by five major clients they were terminating their contract, effective immediately. Tank could hear the telephones ringing as he sat in Ranger's office.

Manny and Cal were the calmest of the men and were on the phones right now. Tank felt bad for them and would have to rotate them off the phones soon. He was contemplating who to replace them with. Binkie could do it but his voice had a whiney sound. Zero and Zip were very close mouthed and their demeanor would not help the situation today. Tank was mentally going through all the personnel. He could put Bobby on, but he would need a partner. Les had a sexy voice and today they did not need to sound like a sex site.

Tank looked at Stephanie. She would be the best person to handle the calls as she had the perfect phone manners from being raised in the Burg. He didn't even want to pursue that. Last night was still a nightmare for everyone, especially her, and he wanted to shield her from the fallout as long as he could.

Stephanie lay back against Ranger. Her gaze lingered on each of the guys. She spoke up.

"What's the damage so far?"

Ranger looked down at her. He should have known better. She had such a finger on the pulse at Rangeman and knew this would cause fallout.

Tank spoke up. "Little Girl, so far we have lost five majors, and we can all hear the phones ringing. I suspect by days' end, we will probably be down 50 percent. I need to get Manny and Cal off the phones soon. Nobody can take that too long."

Stephanie stiffened. Ranger knew before she spoke what she would say. "I'll take my turn Tank. Can I have Bobby as my partner?" We can handle it for awhile and maybe I can help to make them wait a few days before they do something drastic that they will regret when the real story comes out."

Ranger wrapped his arms around Stephanie. He knew that by volunteering she was putting herself in the line of fire. Trenton knew she worked there and she might get an even uglier earful that his men.

"How about we run another shift of men before you go on. Hopefully it will calm down and we can start to do some damage control."

Stephanie nodded. She wanted to get some work done at her desk first. She was very motivated to find out what happened. She was already mentally placing calls to her confidants. It was personal now. Not only was she suspected of being a whore, but that she was also suffering with and passing on diseases. That took the whole situation over the top. It was not only crude. It was vindictive.

**Thanks for all the great reviews. **

**I will be posting the next chapter on Monday. Happy Easter everyone.**


	8. Chapter 8

**I hope everyone had a Happy Easter. Many thanks for all the thoughtful reviews. Thanks to Janet for letting me borrow the guys for a short time. Also thanks Megan for your timely hints and Jennifer for letting me bounce ideas off you. **

Chapter 8

Frank sat in his cab. He had just left the Lodge. His hands were shaking and his body vibrated with anger. His Pumpkin was being raked over the coals with innuendo. He knew deep in his heart that something sinister was happening.

He loved both his girls deeply, but Stephanie had always held a special place in his heart. He loved her spirit. He loved her never-ending attempts to persuade her mother that she would never fit the restrictive mold of a Burg girl.

He hated what his wife had forced on Stephanie. She had been worn down on her objections and had finally consented to marrying Dickie Orr and he hated watching her inner light dim. That whole wedding had been a sham. The only one happy about the whole circus act was Helen. She had been in her glory planning it. She was the toast of the town for her elaborate details.

The ink had hardly even dried when Dickie's indiscretions came to light. Stephanie had been taken to the cleaners by the Orr family over the course of the divorce proceedings and her heart and pocketbook were in shambles.

She had come away from that disaster with a little less sparkle in her eyes. She was no longer the carefree free spirit Frank loved.

Not having time to recover completely she had been pursued by Joe Morelli. There was no denying that he elicited excitement and awe in the female community. His rugged good looks and prowess in the bedroom were legendary. Oh, how Frank wished she had stayed away from Morelli. She had been drawn to him like a moth to a flame. Those two had a history.

Frank pondered her choices lately. Stephanie had finally seen the light that Joe was sleeping around on her and had kicked him to the curb. Being the kind, caring soul she was, she had tried to let him down gently. They really were not suited to be together as lovers. They were like oil and water. When they shifted to friends only, life appeared to be better.

Frank thought about the new man in her life.

He liked him. Ranger was kind, extremely considerate and thought the world of Stephanie, even though he had tried to keep his distance. He gave her his support, his cars and his men. Until recently, he had neglected to give himself to her, but that had changed eight months ago. They had finally realized that they were the ying to the yang, the sun to the moon, and walking together down the yellow brick road to happiness.

Notwithstanding the obvious physical attraction to each other, they gave off a happy vibe. They would steal little glances at each other when they thought nobody was watching. A gentle touch here, a curling of hair there, or his hand on the small of her back. It was obvious to any observer that their souls were truly made for each other.

Frank vowed he would help where he could to help clear up this mess. He heard things being a cabbie. He had friends who cared deeply for his pumpkin. He felt that there was someone out there who could steer him in the right direction for some information. He planned his next move.

~~~o0o~~~

Eddie, Big Dog and Carl met at a coffee shop. Cops having a break rarely garnered more than a curious look and these three were well known as good friends. Unfortunately, on the discussion menu was anything but casual.

Eddie spoke up. "There is no bet in the world that will make up for what happened. We all know that Stephanie does these jobs to avoid bloodshed. She has been known to convince very dangerous perps to leave a bar and avoid a scene. "

Big Dog took a bite of his apple pie. "I don't like what is happening here. We need Rangeman in Trenton. We need their help. I think we can all agree that someone is trying to muddy the waters here. It's going to get pretty ugly here for awhile. I, for one, will check my sources. Someone knows something."

Carl nodded. He was the big, strong and silent type. He rarely voiced his opinions out loud. He was curious about the method it had all gone down. It looked almost orchestrated.

Eddie finished his coffee. He stood up. "Shirley will be suggesting a long and dry spell on the couch for me if I can't assure her this is a mistake. I'll check some of my contacts. Someone is going to make a mistake and I want to be there to flush them out."

The men stood up and headed for the door.

~~~o0o~~~

Vince and Woody had just come off shift. They were contemplating the break room or just heading down to four for a beer. It had been brutal. Call after call had come in. Most were questioning the article in the paper, but some had been downright rude. Another four had cancelled their contracts. On top of that, it appeared that their vehicles were being targeted by vandals. The patrols had initiated travelling in pairs. Everyone was on edge. It was going to be a very long day.

Stephanie and Bobby took over the phones. Stephanie had her notes in front of her. She needed to put her thoughts on paper and work from there. Between phone calls, they compared notes.

Stephanie sat in the chair with her feet tucked under her. She hypnotically spun the chair round and round. Bobby gave up watching her. He was getting dizzy. He knew she was deep in thought. She had not even heard the phone ring a couple of times.

Bobby handled another call. He had tried to placate the caller that the true information would be coming out and to try to be patient. He doubted they would wait too long. People made their minds up quickly and if there was any lingering doubt, it was usually acted on rapidly.

Unfortunately, there were a number of security companies that would be benefitting from this mess. He wondered if one of them had anything to do with this turn of events. He would take it up with Tank when he saw him.

Stephanie looked at Bobby. Something was niggling at her and she couldn't place why. Her spidey senses had kicked in. In fact, it was practically jumping off the scale. She started to scribble on the pad. Her brow was furrowed and her writing and exclamation marks were getting bigger and bigger on the page. Wide lined paper was no match. She started to underline with a heavy hand.

Stephanie jumped when Tank came up behind her. She was so unaware of her surroundings right now, she had not even heard him speak to her.

Tank took one look at the notes. He looked at Bobby. Bobby just shook his head. She was like a dog with a bone and something had pinged.

Tank spoke to Stephanie. "I'll take over for a bit so that you can have a break, Little Girl. Use my office. I have a drawer you might like. Ranger need never know."

Stephanie jumped off the chair. She stood on her tippy toes and gave Tank a kiss on the cheek. She smiled and gently removed the lip gloss with her finger.

"I'll be back in a few, Tank."

She took the pad of paper and practically sprinted to his office. The door closed. Both Bobby and Tank heard the drawer open and a deep moan mere moments later. They looked at Ranger's door. It was still closed. Unfortunately they heard a chair squeak. Damn Ranger's hearing. He probably heard the cellophane wrapper being ripped open. The door opened and Ranger came out. He looked at the men at the control desk. He knew Tank was not supposed to be manning the phones. He looked at Bobby but he was wearing his best blank face.

Ranger looked at Tank's closed office door. Tank raced to block the door. He stood with his arms crossed and his stance statue like. His face looked like granite. Ranger came closer but Tank stood his ground. A silent war of words erupted from their eye contact. A whole conversation ensued. Ranger nodded. He spun on his heel and returned to his office. The door closed.

Tank returned to the chair. He looked straight ahead and sighed. His shoulders slumped. He envisioned a trip to the mats was in his future again. God, he hated cracked or broken ribs. It made it hard to breathe. Not to mention he hated that it curtailed his activities with Lula. She was no lightweight and he hated when she was the only aggressor on top. Tank had mentioned to Stephanie once that he allowed women to drive his bed, some of the time. He groaned to himself as right now he was flying solo. Lula was not returning his phone calls.

Tank fielded another call. He sympathized with the men at the tone the callers were using. He had made a good call when he had limited the time shifts on the phones. One could only be polite so long. He had just fielded a particularly nasty call. He hung up. There was a box of batteries in Rodriquez's mail slot. Tank pulled it out and fired it across the room. It hit the wall. Unfortunately, the force of the hit knocked a picture off its hinges and crashed to the floor. Glass flew everywhere.

Ranger and Stephanie both bolted out of the offices. Tank had the grace to look embarrassed. He was supposed to be the picture of reason. Nothing flustered Tank. He was the calm in the midst of a storm. To see him show this much emotion put into perspective the seriousness of the situation.

Tank stood up. He went over to the picture and bent down to pick up the glass shards. Ranger came over and handed him some gloves. They both bent down and retrieved more glass. Stephanie brought over a waste basket. Ella was already coming through the doorway with a vacuum. She shooed them away and cleaned up the area. She picked up the picture and handed it to Ranger. He looked at it, then showed it to Tank.

The caption read "Be True to Yourself." In the background was the Rangeman building on Haywood. It was dirty and run down. Ranger had taken that picture just after he had signed the purchase papers.

Calmness enveloped the room. They would get through this. They would find out who had done this. Rangeman would survive.

**I have had a number of requests on Hector's health. He will be making an appearance tomorrow. **


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Stephanie knocked on the door. A faint voice said, "Hola". She opened the door timidly and peeked in. Hector lay flat in the hospital bed. He smiled at his visitor.

She walked in and closed the door. She had one hand behind her back. Hector smiled. Each time she had visited, Stephanie had brought him another gift. To date the coffee mugs she brought were stamped with:

Stressed is desserts spelled backwards

My family is temperamental: half temper, half mental

I love people who can make me laugh when I don't even want to smile

What if today you were grateful for everything

Oh shit. Not you again

We're not alone

and his personal favorite,

Oops. Did I just roll my eyes out loud?

Stephanie sat in the chair by the bed. Hector was looking better. The swelling was down and his nose was regaining its shape. His right arm was in a sling. His broken ribs were healing. One leg and ankle were still in a cast. The most serious injury was to his back. He had a very bruised spine. The doctors hoped that the paralysis was only temporary.

She took his hand in hers. She tried to keep her face happy, but she had trouble keeping emotions from creeping out.

Hector watched her. She was waging quite an internal battle with herself. She shifted uncomfortably.

Hector patted the bed. He had trouble watching her while he lay flat on his back. Bobby had impressed upon him that the less movement he made, the sooner they would see an improvement. The guys who came to visit always stood in his line of sight, but Stephanie was too active to stand still.

He had finally convinced her to sit on the bed. That way, he could see her and read her emotions.

Stephanie carefully sat down. She unconsciously started to rub his undamaged forearm. She was deep in thought. Hector waited her out. He had all the time in the world.

She sighed. He knew that she would talk soon. He grasped her hand. He spoke softly.

"What's wrong, Chica?"

She looked down. "You don't need to know my problem, Hector. You have followed me enough that you know the scrapes I can get myself into without even trying."

Hector smiled. He had always loved to partner with her. She was such a bright light in a dark and dangerous world. He was constantly amazed at both her luck and also lack of luck.

~~~Flashback~~~

His all-time favorite shift had been the time they were putting a skip into the SUV. She was reaching for the handle to open the door to climb into the truck when a big truck with a portable water tank in the back drove by. One wheel hit a pothole and water launched out of the top and completely cascaded over her. Two feet either way and she would have escaped, but the resulting waterfall enveloped her. She just stood there dripping and looking like a drowned rat. Stephanie stood there in disbelief sputtering from the shock. Even the skip couldn't contain his laughter. Hector had tried to remain impassive, but it was an almost impossible task. Stephanie stood there glaring at them both.

Hector had phoned Ranger. He showed up in Tank's Hummer. They had climbed from the truck. Ranger's mouth twitched. Tank had tried to keep his face blank but was failing miserably.

Ranger brought out an emergency blanket and walked to her. He put the blanket around her and gave her a hug. She had leaned into his broad, strong chest, and sighed. "Why me?"

Tank climbed into Hector's vehicle and they sped off to drop off their man. Ranger drove them back to Rangeman. He helped her out and called for the elevator. He pressed his fob and scrambled the cameras as they rose to 7.

Stephanie had hoped that was the end. Unfortunately, Les had checked the cameras at the businesses on the street. One feed had the entire episode on tape. By the time Stephanie had made her way down to 5, it was playing on all the screens.

Tank had played lead on that one. He informed Les of a conversation they would be having on the mats tomorrow morning and it successfully took the wind out of his sails. He had finally gotten a date with a barista who had seemed almost immune to his charms initially, and looking like a loser in a cage match wasn't the impression he was going for. He had finally accepted the inevitable and had called to reschedule.

~~~Flashback~~~

Hector cleared his throat. Stephanie looked down. She jumped off the bed and reached for the glass with ice water in it. She held the straw as Hector took a drink. She sat down carefully on the bed again.

He spoke. "Tell me the matter." She hesitated. She didn't know if he had heard about last night. She mustered her thoughts.

"Did you hear what happened last night on the take-down?" Hector nodded. Bobby had filled him in.

"My spidey senses are all over the place. I have listened to that tape so many times, I can repeat it word for word. Something on that tape keeps bugging me. I can hear the words. That call is too contrived."

Hector lay quietly. He knew the value of silence. She sighed. "I know my friends will know the truth, but I feel so dirty. To have someone saying things like that sickens me. I don't even want to leave the building."

Hector nodded. Words hurt and these were the worst.

He patted her hand. "You know the words. Block them out and listen for the sounds. Do you hear anything like a train whistle, a TV, a clock, or something like that?"

Stephanie stood up. She looked at her watch. She needed to eat. She leaned over and gave him a gentle hug.

Hector gave her back his gift. She smiled and put it with the other mugs on the ledge. She let herself out the door. The newest coffee mug was green. In white bold letters, it read

Be All You Can Be.

Hector smiled as his eyes closed. His last thought was that he would get well soon and hope to partner with her again.

~~~o0o~~~

Four days later and Joe was still getting great pleasure from the burg grapevine. He had heard about the initial loss of business for Rangeman and the innuendo that was still circulating.

He sat in his office. He had a number of files to work on and was hip deep when Henry walked in. He sat down in the guest chair and toyed with his coffee cup.

Joe looked at Henry. He read like an open book, just like his Cupcake. Joe could see something was bothering Henry. "What's up?"

Henry played with the cup some more. "I know I'm new here, but the whole thing with Stephanie Plum and Rangeman is starting to feel weird. Rangeman usually plays close to the rules and the word on the street is leaning that she must have been set up. I've heard many nicknames for her but none of them came close to being a hooker. And then, this thing about carrying STD's; well, whoever planted that is a real sicko."

Joe could feel his heart speed up. If possibly the worst cop in the history of the Trenton Police Force was questioning this turn of affairs, the good cops probably would also. He pondered his next move.

Joe stood up. He looked at Henry. "I have an errand to run but I'll see you later. You can go over some of these files while I'm away. We need more leg work on a bunch of them."

Joe stepped out of his office. He noticed out of the corner of his eye that Eddie, Carl and Big Dog were speaking in a corner. As he came near, they stopped talking. He walked past them and out of the building.

He pulled out his cell phone. He dialed a number off by heart. He left a message.

~~~o0o~~~

Frank tried to placate both Helen and Edna. Helen as per usual had wailed, "why me, Sally Peter's daughter would never do things like that!"

Edna had shifted her dentures around in her mouth. This was a sure sign of distress. Her baby granddaughter was in trouble again. Edna vowed to check with her ladies in crime. They had a mission. Find out the truth, and find the asshole who was planting false information. She mentally checked her weapons. Frank had taken her gun away from her, again. Maybe Elsie Mayberry would be willing to lend her the magnum. After all, her eyesight wasn't what it used to be. She had shot at her cuckoo clock last week. It was making too much noise. Unfortunately she had nailed the microwave.

Frank was busy. He had been talking to his cabbie buddies. They promised to keep their ears to the ground.

He called Ranger. Ranger picked up with his customary "Yo".

"I think we need to talk, don't you?"

Ranger had been expecting the call. He steeled himself. Frank was very, very close to his youngest daughter. If she was hurting, so was her dad. They arranged to meet outside Trenton the next day at 3pm. There was a little coffee shop and Frank knew the owner. They could park behind the shop and nobody would see the cars.

Stephanie walked to the break room. She grabbed a turkey on whole wheat and a water. She sat at a table and dug in. Men drifted in and out. For some, it was meal time, for some a break time, and some were off duty but hungry. Rangeman was a large operation and run with military efficiency.

Stephanie stood up. She placed her garbage in the appropriate receptacle. One for waste, one for recycling, and one for refunds.

Her hand stopped in mid toss. Woody was waiting behind her. He finally nudged her and she resumed throwing things away. She looked at the clock on the wall. She might have just enough time to check.

She tried to walk out of the break room at a normal pace, but her feet were dancing and her mind was spinning. She sat at her cubicle and put on her headphones. She pressed play again. Stephanie vowed to kiss Hector when she saw him.

~~~o0o~~~

Ranger and Tank sat in Ranger's office. They were looking at the newspaper. "Well, at least we are finally off Page 1," growled Tank.

They looked tired. The phone calls had slowed down. Unfortunately the damage had been extensive. They had immediately lost 30% of their accounts and a number had expressed concerns but to date had stayed with Rangeman.

Ranger was very proud of his employees. They had stayed calm on the phones and his outside patrols had managed to handle the innuendo thrown their way. A number of vehicles had been hit with eggs. The men came back a bit more reserved.

Les hoped to lighten the atmosphere. He had a board in the break room. There was a running tally how many eggs had hit each vehicle per patrol. There was even a hint of a trophy. So far, Hal and Eric were winning. They had been patrolling down Stark Street and it had rained eggs on their vehicle. Unfortunately they had had to stop at a gas station to clean the missiles off the windshield so they could see. Those would not count in the final tally. Only Al was allowed to confirm the hits when the vehicles were brought in for cleaning. Each truck was averaging at least two clean ups per patrol.

~~~o0o~~~

Tank received another call. Derek had made the first call but this time it was Dominic on the phone. He was by far more quiet and reserved of the two punks, but he seemed to get a line on information faster than Derek. Tank suspected that Derek had fallen back into his old ways and would once again be in trouble soon.

Dominic spoke quietly. "Mr. Tank. I heard something."

Tank was standing in a hallway by the gun range. "Talk".

Dominic hesitated. His life might be in real danger if anyone heard that he had passed this on. He waged an internal battle with himself. Finally he spoke. "I heard that Skin was bragging about getting to someone so bad they almost died. He showed someone the boots he was wearing. He called them Judgement Boots."

Tank was silent. This might be the break they were waiting for.

There was silence on the line. Tank waited. He figured that Dominic had more to add. "How's Hector?"

Tank smiled. He had suspected that Dominic was also gay. He vowed that he would speak to Hector about meeting Dominic. Maybe he could convince him to get out of the gang scene before it was too late.

"Hector's much better now. The doctor's are very hopeful he will heal completely but it will be some time before anybody sees him down there."

Dominic exhaled in relief. He had few idols, but he counted Hector as one. He hoped to meet him one day.

They both hung up. Men don't express emotions well; one was a man and one was trying to become a man.

~~~o0o~~~

Mooch received a call. Joe was being sent on another undercover assignment. Could he look after Bob again?

Mooch agreed. He would wait for Joe's call when he was leaving and then pick up Bob and his toys and food on the way home from work. He hoped that Joe would not be long on this assignment. The last time Joe had been gone for six months.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Ranger drove the Turbo behind the coffee shop. He quickly scanned the lot as he climbed out. The cab was already there. Frank opened his door and stepped out. They shook hands and walked into the back of the coffee shop.

Barry was standing in the kitchen. He motioned them through to the front dining area. It was suspiciously empty. They chose a cubicle at the back of the room. Ranger sat with his back to the wall. Frank had no problem with his back exposed; he had no enemies anymore. His mission time was done and he had done his duty. Let the younger men take on the burden of protecting the country he loved more than almost life itself. He may be getting old, but he still felt pride swell in his chest.

Barry set a coffee carafe on the table. He shooed the waitress into the kitchen as he withdrew. He had already placed a sign on the window that the shop would be closed for a private party until 4 pm. The closed drapes hid the interior.

Ranger waited while Frank poured both coffees. Frank added sugar and cream. Ranger smiled in spite of himself. Frank and Stephanie prepared their coffee exactly the same way.

Ranger nodded his head at the direction of the kitchen. "Friend of yours?"

Frank smiled. "Army buddy." Ranger nodded. Friendships like that seemed to remain strong even when tours of duty ended. When you trust a man with your life, you never forget.

They toyed with their coffee cups. Each marshalled their thoughts. Frank spoke first.

"I am not very pleased with what went down a few days ago. I know my daughter and I suspect she is really hurting right now. She tries not to listen to gossip but whoever did this is scum of the earth. I want you to promise to let me know who did this. I want to dole out some Plum justice before the perv makes it to the police station, assuming of course, that they ever will."

Ranger nodded slightly. He could arrange that. He looked at Frank. The meek, mild mannered gentleman in front of him was gone. He saw a soldier re-emerging. Common courtesy had never allowed Ranger to check out Frank's background. He suspected that he should not be surprised what might emerge. He was beginning to suspect that Stephanie had not inherited her feistiness from only her grandmother.

Ranger shifted in his seat. "As you may well suspect, I am very taken with your daughter. We have never discussed our relationship with you or anyone, for that matter. As you can imagine, this has hurt her deeply but her true friends are standing by her. There will be the naysayers and the gossipmongers but at the same time, what they are saying is cutting her deeply. She is not feeling any desire to venture outside our building unless it is extremely necessary."

Frank nodded. "Have you got anything yet?"

Ranger nodded. "We have the tape. I can't imagine how painful it is every time Stephanie listens to it. At the same time, she continues to totally blow me away how she is pursuing any lead. Her spidey sense has kicked in. She is trying to discover what is bothering her. I have every confidence that what she is seeking will soon be found."

Frank poured himself another coffee. This time he left it black. Ranger raised an eyebrow at him. Frank explained grudgingly. "The doctor says I have to cut down on fats and sugars. Age sucks. So, to appease him, I drink one the way I like it and one black. May seem strange to you, son. You are probably asking why I don't just cut down half on the one so I can have two the same. I like my cream and sugar. Drinking the other one black makes me stop because I cannot stand it that way. It sounds weird, but it works."

Ranger nodded. It seemed logical in this family. He had seen Stephanie eat a donut, then run to burn it off. Why not just cut out the donut?

Frank played with his cup. He was deep in thought. Ranger sat patiently. This was another family trait. Both Frank and Stephanie discussed things bothering them internally until they were ready to reveal. Frank took a sip and grimaced. He pushed the half empty cup of coffee away from him. He looked at Ranger.

"I caught Helen talking to Morelli. I demanded to know what she had said. She admitted that she spilled the beans about you doing the takedown to him. She seemed pretty proud of herself when Stephanie had phoned her to beg off supper because she was doing a job for Rangeman and promptly passed it on. She then asked him if he needed more or if he thought that would be enough."

Ranger schooled his face. He now played with his cup. The pieces were starting to come together. Nobody had figured out where the leak had come from. They could now concentrate on finding the person who knew the bar for the take down. He would check with Tank when he got back. Tank had mentioned that he might have a lead but would be checking it out. He said he did not need back-up. Ranger had noticed Tank's fists had clenched. Ranger suspected he knew more than he was letting on.

Ranger wondered once again how Stephanie had survived growing up in that house with her mother. He suspected that her dad and grandma had a lot to do with her growing up happy and well balanced.

Frank spoke again. "I have been receiving some confusing information about Morelli. He has been acting very strangely lately. My guys saw him earlier this week sitting in front of day care centers watching parents drop off and pick up children. Someone else saw him picking up movies at the video store, from the family section. Another person saw him looking at nursery furniture. Nobody has heard that he has someone coming to visit and he isn't seriously dating someone."

Frank played with his spoon on the table. He spun it around a number of times. He looked at Ranger.

"Mr. Winowski lives down the street from Morelli. He mentioned at the Lodge yesterday that he saw a strange Ford driving down his street a couple of times. He did not recognize the driver. That is a really quiet street. It is rare to see strange cars there unless they are visiting someone or delivering something. He was going to check with his neighbors. He was broken into last year and keeps a pretty sharp eye outside now."

The meeting seemed to be drawing to a conclusion.

They both stood up.

Frank spoke once again. "I'll let you know if I or any of my contacts hear anything. People forget that cabbies have ears."

Frank led the way through the kitchen doors. Barry was stirring a pot and the kitchen staff were busy preparing for the upcoming evening mealtime rush. Frank shook Barry's hand. Then Ranger shook Barry's hand. Barry found a business card and a $100 bill wrapped around it now in his palm.

They left by the back door, shook hands and headed for their respective vehicles.

Barry looked down. He could feel something in his apron pocket. He put his hand in and pulled out another $100 bill. Barry chuckled to himself. Frank, that sneaky bastard, had slipped it in when he wasn't looking.

~~~o0o~~~

Henry got a call to see the Chief. He walked down the hall wondering what he had done to screw up. He knocked on the door. A deep voice bade him enter.

Henry opened the door. Inside was Chief Joe Juniak and Joe Morelli. He walked in and closed the door. The Chief motioned to a chair. Henry sunk down in the club chair. It was too soft and cushy for his taste but now was not the time to discuss furniture.

"You wanted to see me Chief?"

Joe nodded. "I'm not sure if you ever discussed this together but Morelli sometimes is called upon for deep undercover operations with various law agencies. He just received a call and is leaving tomorrow. I never know where he is going, but it sounds like it will be for an extended period of time." Therefore, I need to re-assign you. You will take the files you two were working on and complete them with your new partner."

Henry nodded. He had heard that Joe did undercover work but he had always remained close mouthed about his activities.

The Chief spoke again. "I am re-assigning you to work with Brian Smith. It is in everyone's best interests that he be re-assigned to a different department for the time being. Brian has worked homicide before. You will learn a lot from him."

Henry nodded. There was no sense in kicking up a fuss. Brian was a good officer and hopefully he would learn lots from him. He was actually happy to get away from Joe. He had changed in the past few months.

Henry stood up. He shook the Chief's hand, then Joe's. "Good luck on your assignment, Joe." Henry walked out the door.

~~~o0o~~~

Stephanie was feeling a myriad of emotions after her mid shift coffee break. Ella had dedicated one cupboard for Stephanie's use in the break room. She always kept it fully stocked with some favorites. It had taken two peanut butter and olive sandwiches, but she had finally found what was bothering her. She put her recorder back in her cubicle.

Stephanie headed for Ranger's office. She knocked and walked in.

She stood in front of Ranger's desk. He motioned her to come to stand by him, but her thoughts were troubled and she stayed back.

"Can you call a meeting of the core team when I get off these phones, please? I have some news and think it should be shared as soon as possible."

Ranger looked at her. She was pale looking and shaking slightly. He considered pulling her off monitor duty. He was about to call Tank and ask for a replacement for her but Stephanie spoke.

"I'm fine, Ranger. Right now I need to concentrate on work. Les and Bobby are out on patrol anyway, and I don't really want to sit and dwell on what I just discovered. I would tell you, but I think that you need to hear it with the others."

Ranger nodded. He got up and walked with her out the door. Stephanie stood by Tank with her hand resting lightly on his shoulder. He was on the phone with a customer. He was calm but his face was mottled. "Thank you for agreeing to wait before cancelling your account, Mrs. Alexander. Rangeman is working very hard to find out who tried to destroy our name and reputation. We will be in touch."

Tank hung up the phone. He looked around. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes and mentally counted to ten. His shoulders slumped. He looked at Ranger. "Anyone who takes a turn on these lines needs either a raise, or danger pay."

Ranger slapped him on the back as he stood up. Stephanie took her place in the chair and put on the earpiece. She reached over to Vince and fist bumped him. Vince smiled. He loved to partner with Stephanie. She was giggly, animated and fun. The past number of days had stressed out everyone. Something had changed within the Bomber. Vince hoped it was not a permanent change.

Ranger looked at Tank. "Babe found something. She wants a meeting of the core team only when she gets off the phones. Alert Les and Bobby and we will meet in Conference Room C after their shifts end."

Ranger walked away. Stephanie noticed that he had a spring in his step that had been missing the past few days. She hoped that it was the start of getting to the bottom of it. Unfortunately she now believed she knew who was behind the attack.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Stephanie and Ranger walked hand in hand into Conference Room C. Bobby, Les and Tank were already there.

They took a seat and Stephanie cleared her throat. It was her meeting and she was going to be dropping a bomb.

"A very good friend gave me the key to solving the phone call. He suggested I block out the words and concentrate on background noises. I did that and that's when I finally heard it."

Stephanie pulled out the tape machine and played the tape. The men had heard the recording a number of times and continued to grimace as they listened again.

Stephanie put up her hand. She played it again, this time, raising the volume at one place. Whoever had made the phone call had probably put a cloth over the receiver to disguise their voice. The men listened carefully. She re-played it again. This time they knew what to listen for. Stephanie turned it off.

"The call came into the station at 4:59 p.m. It was a warm day. Part-way through the recording you heard a very faint whirring sound start. I think I know what that sound is."

Stephanie paused to collect herself. Ranger slipped his hand into hers. He gave her hand a squeeze for courage.

She continued. "I have heard that whirring sound every time a certain air conditioning fan starts up. Joe has a sticky fan in his truck that does that. It used to drive me nuts. I always felt my teeth starting to clench when it started. Joe never thought it was important enough to have it checked out and repaired or replaced. I think it was Joe who did this."

The silence in the room gave way to angry outbursts. Les stood up so quickly his chair fell over backwards. Bobby pounded his fist on the table knocking over his water bottle. Tank was gripping the cushiony arm on his chair so hard you could see the indentations from pressure.

Everyone started to talk at once. "Where is that motherfucker?" ground out one voice. "I'll rip him a new one," said another, "Nobody will ever find the body", came a third response.

Ranger put his hand up. Silence came grudgingly.

"This is a Trenton Police Officer we are dealing with. Nobody disposes of the body. We need to check this out very carefully."

Bobby spoke up. "All we have is a sticking fan blade. We need more. There has to be some word on the street. We can't go to the police with this as the only evidence."

Tank slowly let out a breath and spoke up. "We are going to have to trust the rest of the Trenton Police Service to assist us. We need to clear Stephanie's name and also our own. We need to co-ordinate a proper attack and it needs to come at least in part from outside Rangeman's walls as right now our credibility is shot to shit."

Les was strangely quiet. He spoke. "We are dealing with friends of both Morelli and Stephanie at the station. He has worked there for ten years. They will have a lot of loyalty to him. At the same time, I was there with a skip this morning and the air is toxic. People are angry what happened to Beautiful and also to a point Rangeman. They value us and the scum we bring back into the system. Personally I think we should work on this in-house for awhile and then bring it forward."

Everyone looked at Ranger. He was holding Stephanie's hand in his. He looked at her. Her face was full of emotion. She believed that Joe had done it. She thought he was her friend. They were no longer lovers but they had a history for many years.

Stephanie stood up. She quietly excused herself and walked to the door. Ranger began to stand too. She put her hand up in a stop motion. She walked out of the room. Everyone watched as she quietly closed the door.

Ranger pulled out his cell phone. Tiny was on the monitors and answered. "Control."

Ranger spoke. "Stephanie just left the room. Where is she heading?"

Tiny pressed some keys. "She is in the stairwell heading down. She is getting off on four." Tiny pressed more keys. " She is walking down the hallway. She is knocking on Hector's door. She just went in."

Ranger snapped his cell phone closed. The rest looked at him. "She went to see Hector."

Les, Bobby and Tank nodded their heads. She was safe and had not run out of the building.

Bobby stood up. He would head down and keep any of the men from dropping in. His office was right by Hector's room. They seemed to have a unique relationship, those two. Stephanie lit up Hector's day and Hector had had the most calming effect on her, after Ranger, of course.

The men moved their chairs closer. They had a mission and this one was not going to fail.

Ranger spoke quietly. "I had a meeting with Frank Plum earlier this afternoon..."

~~~o0o~~~

Stephanie tapped on Hector's door. She entered when he called out. She walked to his bed. She sat on the edge of his bed.

Hector watched her face. He had not seen her quite so sad in a long time. It looked like her best friend had passed away.

He waited for her to speak.

Stephanie picked up Hector's hand that was laying on the sheets. She held his hand with one hand and started to rub his forearm with the other. She was deep in thought.

Hector said, "Chica, you are troubled, yes?"

Stephanie sighed. She looked down at the bed. "Si, Hector, I am very troubled. I did what you said and listened for noises other than the words. I found a noise I recognize. It was a noise that I am sure was from Joe's truck. I think he made the phone call."

Hector lay in stunned silence. He vowed that when, not if, he got out of this damn bed he would pay a visit to Joe Morelli. Nobody did something like that to a friend, and especially not a friend of Hector's.

Stephanie sniffled a couple of times. She sat quietly. Hector let her collect her thoughts.

"I guess I better go. The guys are having a planning meeting and I want in on it."

Hector patted her hand. He reached over to the table. He picked up a permanent ink marker.

"I have a new cast. Sign it, please, Chica." He handed Stephanie the marker.

She took the pen and stood up. She thought what to say this time. She leaned over and started to write on the cast. Hector couldn't see what it was, but she was taking her time. He waited patiently. He had a mirror under the covers in case someone didn't tell him what they had done. The men of Rangeman were strong and silent, but give them a marker and a cast to work on and strange things happened.

Stephanie stood up. She moved to the other side of the bed to finish. A ring on her finger caught in the hair of Hector's uncasted leg. She lifted up her arm.

Hector looked surprised. Stephanie stopped what she was doing. "I'm so sorry, Hector."

He spoke. "Chica, I felt that. I felt you pulling the hair on my leg."

Stephanie raced to the door. Bobby was working in his office.

She raced to his side and grabbed Bobby by the arm. "Bobby, you have to come quick! It's Hector!"

Bobby grabbed his bag and bolted out the door. Stephanie was sitting on the bed again, holding Hector's hand. Her excitement was building. "I accidentally pulled the hair on Hector's leg. He felt it!" Stephanie started to stammer.

Bobby took a small pin from his bag and touched Hectors' big toe. He flinched. He worked his way up the leg. Each time there was a response. By now, the doorway was filled with Rangemen. Word had spread like wildfire and everyone was holding their breath.

Bobby stood up. "The Doctor said the paralysis would disappear. This is very good news. I'm going to call him with an update. Maybe now we can start to get you up and moving around. It's about damn time you get your lazy ass out of this bed."

He walked out. The men came into the room. Each one shook Hector's hand and left. Stephanie stayed with Hector.

His smile said it all.

Stephanie prepared to leave. She leaned down and gave him a soft kiss on his cheek. She stood up and walked out the door.

Today was a good day after all.

Hector took the mirror from under the sheet. He positioned it carefully to read what Stephanie had written. It said:

FRIENDS DON'T HURT FRIENDS

on one side of his cast then

UNLESS THEY ARE NOT FRIENDS

Followed by a :( beside it.

**A/N - This chapter became too long and unmanageable so I divided it into two chapters. But, lucky you, I will send through the other 'half' later as I still need to do some 'wrasslin' with the new Chapter 12. Myrna**


	12. Chapter 12

**Myrna 1, Chapter 12 posted!**

Chapter 12

Joe was upstairs. Bob was laying on the bed watching with his head on his paws. Joe opened up two large suitcases. He started to empty his closet of pants and shirts and jackets. Next he headed for the chest of drawers. He pulled out socks, t shirts, boxers and board shorts. He moved back to the closet. He pulled out boots, runners and sandals. He headed for the bathroom. Shampoo, soap, shaver and body wash was next.

Joe looked around. He had no idea if and or when he would be back.

He sat down on the bed. Bob rested his big head on Joe's leg. His sad eyes said everything. He would miss him. Bob knew someone would be picking him up soon. Joe had always looked after his buddy.

Joe spoke. "Bob, I wish I could take you with me. I'm not sure if I will even come back this time. There is not much for me to return to anymore."

Joe looked at the wastebasket. In it were the copies of the boxed sets he had watched over and over; Father Knows Best, The Waltons and Leave it to Beaver. His dream was slowly disappearing in front of him. His wish for the perfect family was going up in smoke.

Joe looked down at Bob. He had consistently been his companion through thin and thin. Bob had been there for him, welcoming him at the door every day as he walked in. Bob had given him his unconditional love, even though Joe had scared him with his erratic behavior these past few months.

Joe patted Bob on his head again and rubbed his ears. He leaned down and gave him a hug.

He stood up. He zipped up the bags and carried them down the stairs to the door. Bob followed.

Joe looked at the basement door. He was pondering what to do. Did he have time to dismantle the room? Should he just leave it? Did it matter anymore?

Joe thought about his meeting with the Chief. He had been a cop so long he was aware of underlying tension. Nothing had been said, but even Joe Juniak had been surprised at the sudden call for undercover work. Usually it had taken a number of weeks to set up an undercover insertion but he had been approached that Joe was needed immediately. He wondered how long before the Chief would start digging. This whole thing was going FUBAR around him and it was time to leave. He hoped he would be able to disappear in time.

The phone rang. His ride was almost at the house. Joe had time to walk through the main floor. He would miss his house. It was becoming his and not his Aunt's house. Stephanie had helped to personalize it to his tastes. He sadly now believed that she would never live in this house with him. His plan had backfired. He hadn't played it subtly enough and in his rush to get his Cupcake back he'd left too many pieces that didn't sit right. Hell, even what he called an incompetent cop wasn't swallowing this pill whole. Maybe he would not have made a good criminal after all.

There was a honk outside. Joe took his jacket out of the hall closet and walked out the door. He turned the key in the lock and put the key in his pocket. Mooch had a key and would get Bob. He had already offered to keep an eye on the house.

He threw the suitcases into the now opened trunk and climbed into the back seat.

Joe looked back as the car drove down the street. In the distance he could see a black SUV just starting to turn onto the street. He turned his head and looked forward.

~~~o0o~~~

Frank sat in his cab. He was rehashing the meeting at the coffee shop earlier with Ranger. He plotted his next move.

His cab buddies were now giving him tidbits of information. They had noticed that cars were parked outside Morelli's house at various times of the day. Word on the street had suggested that a cop was looking for information and paying good money. One thought he had seen someone leaving the back of the Morelli house late one night and hop fences to a house down the street.

Frank phoned Edna. She and her busybody cronies had their hearing aids to the ground.

Mabel Wadsworth mentioned that her granddaughter worked in an electronics store. She was sure Alexis had mentioned to her that Joe Morelli, the VERY handsome Trenton cop had come into her store a number of times to buy different kinds of electronics. It seemed strange to her that he would need listening equipment, fibre optic wire, mini cameras and recording devices. She wondered why he would be needing that stuff. Was the police force that short of money?

Penelope Oshkosh then added that her nephew had sold Mr. Morelli some sound deadening sheetrock. Was he starting a band?

Dolly's Cut 'N Curl had became the headquarters for the Ladies of the Day Snoop Unit. Dolly kept pen and paper handy so that they could write down their observations and sightings.

Dolly was also benefitting from extra cuts and curls during the investigation. Once a week ladies were now booking appointments for two or three times a week. Everyone seemed to be getting in the spirit. There was now more reason than ever to get up in the morning.

Plans were being made. Lunches and meetings were being scheduled.

It was almost scary.

Edna passed on the information to Frank who then was passing it on to Ranger. Now that everyone was looking, the information was flowing in. Frank was calling Ranger every couple of hours.

Ranger silently thanked the gods the elderly ladies were on his side. He hoped they were unarmed, but he was not going to go there. Sometimes ignorance is bliss.

~~~o0o~~~

Joe picked up the envelope sitting beside him on the seat. It held all the information on his new assignment. He quickly perused the information sheet. He would be travelling to a small town in Montana. He would be assuming the position of Sheriff's Deputy of Big Sandy. Inside the bag was a new driver's license, bank card, credit card, money, one way airline ticket and a hotel reservation for one night.

The ruse about the undercover job was just that, a ruse. He was on unlimited sabbatical. He could blend in and stay until it calmed down then decide his next move.

He might go further west or leave the country. He had always wanted to travel.

Joe had called in a really big favor for this. His tracks were covered. His new name was Doug McOuatt. He was unmarried, 34 and originally from Phoenix, Arizona. His Italian complexion would also double as an Arizonan suntan. Jo had worked in Phoenix and was familiar with the city if asked.

Big Sandy was a satellite office with the main Sheriff's office in Havre. He would be the only member there. Joe looked at the information again. Big Sandy was the home of Pearl Jam. There was a museum there with the world's largest tractor on display. It was called Big Bud 747. There were close to 700 people calling it home. It was a sleepy town with not much in the way of crime. His job would be to patrol the highway and check for excessive speeders. He was advised not to check too aggressively. It sounded like a pretty cushy job.

He wondered if there were many unattached young ladies in the area. He regretted tossing away the boxed tv shows. Maybe there was a video store in town.

Joe flew into Great Falls. He stepped out of the terminal with his bags in hand. He signalled for a cab and gave him the name of the hotel with his reservation. Key card in hand, Joe looked for his room. He would rest overnight while planning his next move. Tossing his bags on one of the beds, he called for room service. He had the phone book propped open on his bed and with a beer in hand and his burger and fries beside him, he started to make some notes on the hotel stationary.

Next morning Joe picked up an old beater half ton truck from a used car dealership in Great Falls and threw his suitcases in the back. He would need to get a phone and a place to stay. His mind ticked off his immediate to-do list.

~~~o0o~~~

Danny wanted to show off his new invention. This time he warned the control room before putting his pet on the floor. Manny glared at Danny. Danny noticed with some concern that Manny had his hand resting lightly on his Glock.

Ranger and Tank came out of their offices. They watched Danny put the tiny arachnid through its paces. He had it walk across the floor, step over small obstacles, and peek around corners.

Danny picked up the unit. The men were suitably impressed. Tank looked at Ranger. They might have a use for this at some point in time. Danny would need to field test it but it did hold promise.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Michael Ramirez had his hands on the top of the police car and his legs spread apart. Big Dog patted him down then put the cuffs on him one wrist at a time. He pulled him to the back of the car, opened the door and assisted him in. He put his hand on Michaels' head to guide him in without hitting his head on the car top. He closed the door. Carl stayed back and secured the scene during the arrest.

They drove away from the milling crowd. Big Dog took his time driving to the station. Michael had contacted him. He had some information but wanted money. They parked in the lot. Big Dog turned off the car.

Michael cleared his throat. "If I tell you, I want $50."

Carl waved five bills at Michael. He fanned them a few times. Michael licked his lips. He needed a hit pretty bad.

"I got a call from Morelli. He wanted me to call him if I saw that chick he used to date in the mall. She went into a bunch of stores and came out with a bunch of bags. I saw what she was trying on. I told him. He sounded mad. I only got $20 from him."

Big Dog glared at Michael through the rear view mirror. "You expect $50 for that?" I outta run you in for general reasons. That is not worth my time or money."

Michael gulped. He needed the money. He looked at the money in Carl's hands again and licked his lips. "Ronny told me he thinks he saw Morelli at the airport getting out of a car. He was carrying two suitcases. He had dyed his hair blond, but his eyebrows were still blackish. He was in a real hurry to get inside. Ronny was dropping his sister off at the airport and saw him. "

Big Dog and Carl climbed out of the car. They escorted Michael into the station and uncuffed him in the entrance way. Carl stuffed the money into his shirt pocket and walked away. Michael turned and scuttled back out the door. He had spent enough time at the station for various minor offences.

They headed down to Morelli's office. Behind the desk Henry was working on a file. They walked in and closed the door. Henry looked up in confusion.

They sat down in the guest chairs. Big Dog spoke. "Heard where Joe went?" Henry shook his head. He was under the impression nobody would know.

Big Dog and Carl looked at each other. It was always supposed to be a secret but the guys at the station always knew the general destination he would be at and would keep an eye on his house and family while Joe was on assignment. This was passing strange. Nobody knew this time. Something to ponder.

They stood up and walked out. Henry looked at the doorway. That was the third time today someone had asked him.

~~~o0o~~~

It was late at night. Stephanie and Ranger had just eaten a late supper on seven. Ranger went to his closet in the bedroom and came back dressed. Stephanie stood up. She wanted to come too. He cupped her jaw and cheek with his hand and gave her a tender kiss on her lips. He looked in her eyes and she nodded. Unfortunately this needed stealth and she would be a liability. Stephanie sat down on the couch to wait for his return. She had already put in a copy of Ghostbusters. She pressed Play.

Ranger met Tank in the basement. They were going to be doing some late night snooping.

They had checked out the house three doors down from the Morelli house that afternoon. Nobody had answered their knock. One neighbor on the right mowing the lawn had asked if they needed assistance.

Ranger had a sheaf of papers in his hand and waved them at her. "I need these witnessed by your neighbor. Have you seen him today?" Mrs. Wombat shook her head. "I don't see him ever. He only has one light on at night and I think it is on a timer. I saw a car leave the garage a couple of times. I brought over some coffee cake to welcome him to the neighborhood but he never answered the door. I never even saw a moving truck bring any furniture."

Ranger left his card. "If you see him in his house, please call me, night or day. I need him to sign these." He didn't expect a call but felt the need to cover all bases if needed.

He walked back down the path and climbed into the truck. Tank drove away.

They waited until all the lights had gone out in the neighboring houses. Quietly they left the vehicle. Ranger made short work of the front door lock and they walked in. The rooms were completely devoid of any furniture. There was dust on the floor and some footprints. Tank took a picture and measured the tread. "Looks like a size 11 shoe."

They continued through the house. There was one lamp plugged into a wall socket. It was indeed attached to a timer. They headed upstairs. No furniture there either. There was lots of dust on these floors too but no footprints. They walked back down the stairs. Tank headed for the basement. He came back up. "Nothing down there but the furnace and hot water tank."

They quietly went back out the door and re-locked it. They walked around the house and looked at the garage. Tank picked that lock. Once again they walked in and closed the door. This time they used their flashlights as the one window had a black screen over it masking all light.

There was a nondescript Ford Focus sitting there. It looked like a 2009. They shone their light around the interior of the garage. No tools, no boxes, no anything, except the car. They walked to the front. They were both still wearing protective gloves. Ranger opened the driver's door and looked in. On the passenger seat lay a wig, hat and a plain dark blue hoodie. Tank took a picture of the disguise. A piece of paper peeked out from under the hoodie. Ranger grabbed the sheet and put it in a plastic bag then in his pocket. They closed the doors and turned off their flashlights. They slipped out of the garage, locking it once again then saunteredked down the back alley and climbed into their truck.

They drove back to Rangeman in silence. Tank parked in an open spot in the garage. He motioned to Ranger that he would look after the pictures and the paper. He headed for the stairs.

Ranger called for the elevator and pressed seven.

He silently thanked Frank for the information provided by Mr. Winowski.

~~~o0o~~~

Edna stood in front of Zero. He was sitting at the reception desk on the main floor of Rangeman.

"I need to see my baby granddaughter, now, young man. You can phone whoever you need to but I'm not leaving until I make sure she is being looked after properly."

Zero leaned back. He had heard many rumors about Edna Mazur. He stayed firmly planted in his chair. He felt relatively safe behind his desk. Zero kept his eye on Edna as he picked up the phone. He buzzed Stephanie's extension.

Stephanie picked up on the second ring. "Stephanie speaking," rang in Zero's ear. "Your grandmother is downstairs," Zero whispered. "Can you come and get her? She seems agitated. She keeps patting her purse."

Stephanie chuckled. "I'll be right down, Zero. Just stay calm. Don't get up, and try not to pull your gun on her. She's been practicing her quick draws again."

Stephanie dashed for the stairs. Her grandmother scared everyone in the building with the possible exception of Lester. They seemed to have an agreement. Even Ranger tried to stay away from her wandering hands. He had used Stephanie as a shield on more than one occasion.

Stephanie stepped out of the stairway. Edna and Zero were in a staring match. Neither was willing to back down. Edna's dentures were dancing around in her mouth. She loved to rile those men with the impressive packages. Life was too short to miss any opportunity to check out a well-built man.

Stephanie took her grandmothers' arm in hers and escorted her to the elevator. She pressed two and the elevator rose obediently. The doors opened and they walked to the smaller conference room. They walked in and Edna closed the door. She grabbed Stephanie in a great big bear hug.

"How are you doing, baby granddaughter? I feel just terrible at all the crude remarks floating around the Burg right now. Your friends and family know the truth."

Stephanie leaned into her grandmother's welcoming embrace. She missed her deeply. She had stayed away from her home and family, not wanting to draw any more attention to them all. She missed the excitement of Friday night suppers. She missed her Dad and grandmother duking it out.

They sat down in the comfy chairs. Stephanie continued to hold her grandmother's hand in hers. She needed the contact right now.

They chatted about what had happened in the Burg. Edna mentioned about the Ladies of the Day Snoop Unit (or LDSU as they had named themselves) and what they had come up with. Stephanie was pleased but not surprised by the information gathered. These ladies got around.

There was a knock on the door. Stephanie got up to open it and Ella was standing there with a cart full of desserts and coffee. She rolled it in and proceeded to place it on the table. Ella gave Edna a hug and walked out. Stephanie looked down. There were pieces of chocolate cake, cookies and brownies. The coffee carafe sat by mugs, cream and sugar. Stephanie realized that once again Ella was a saint among the masses.

They each took a dessert and coffee. They talked and they laughed. They polished off another dessert. More coffee followed. Edna looked at her watch. Two hours had passed. She gathered her bag and coat. She prepared to stand up.

"Ellie Wollonock is picking me up. We have a viewing tonight and I need to get home and get ready. Ted Benson passed away. Word on the street is that he thought he would try pilates and had a heart attack as he was attempting the corkscrew. His wife is spinning the story that he was lifting weights."

Stephanie escorted Edna to the elevator. They rode down in the elevator together. They hugged at the front door. Ellie was waiting outside. Edna walked out and climbed stiffly into the car. Ellie drove off.

Stephanie looked around before heading back to the stairwell. Zero was still on duty. She thought she heard a sigh of relief as the stairway door closed.

~~~o0o~~~

There was a meeting going on in the Conference Room. It was now filled with the Leadership Team.

Ranger spoke. "Report".

Tank spoke up. "The pictures are in front of you. The car is registered to a Benny Goodman. I checked with the owner of the house and Benny rented the house for three months. He was told Benny was working a term project and would be there short term only. He managed to convince the owner to rent the house month to month. He was paid by cash."

Junior spoke up. "I took the bill to the business on the letterhead. It is a little convenience store in Newark. They recognized the bill as theirs but had no recollection of the customer buying the phone. They don't do video surveillance so I could not get access to any tape. I showed them a picture of the wig and hoodie. They didn't recognize the clothing but when I mentioned the car, the man perked up. He mentioned that he had asked a customer if he was willing to sell his car. He was looking for a good used car for his daughter to commute from Columbia in. He was turned down rather quickly. When he looked at the date on the bill of sale he figured it was about the right date."

Junior continued. "We ran the prints on the bill. One appears to be the person selling the phone. The fingerprints appear to be placed where someone takes the page out of the printer. The other set match Morelli's prints that we have on file."

Tank spoke up. His face was impassive but his hands looked slightly bruised. "The leak on the nightclub and date has been closed." He failed to elaborate.

Lester spoke up. "I talked to Stephanie's grandmother." There was a sigh of relief. Nobody had volunteered for that duty. "She confirmed all the tidbits she passed onto us through Frank. Her ladies are beating the bushes looking for something juicy to pass on. Edna seems to have a finger on the pulse of the Burg. Some of the ladies tried to make things up but she seems to know what's believable and what's trash."

Les looked at Ranger. "When this is finished, I think we should seriously consider retaining these ladies. They could help us find a bunch of our FTA's. They know all the dirt on everyone, Ranger!"

Ranger looked at Les. "That sounds like an excellent idea. I'm glad that you volunteered for that duty. You will be our contact." Ranger smiled his full 200 watt smile.

Les grimaced. He wondered how long Edna would keep to their agreement. He might have to arrange to escort her AGAIN to the Chippendales strip joint in Atlantic City.

Ranger held up some photos. "Mrs. Gladys Kravitz, who lives across the street from Morelli took these pictures last evening from her bedroom window. Unfortunately there are no faces showing but I am almost positive that the blond man is Morelli. . It looks like he left rather suddenly. His brother Mooch is picking up Bob the dog along with food and toys"

Ranger looked at the group. "I am ready to contact TPD. I think we now have enough to go to them. I want to approach Eddie with this first. He is related to Stephanie and can be our go-between."

There were nods of agreement. Ranger placed the call.

**Have a good weekend, everyone. I will post again on Monday. Myrna**


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Hector was sitting in a chair by the bed. His casted leg was propped on a stool in front of him and he had his cell phone in his hand.

Stephanie walked into the room. She had her hand behind her back once again.

Hector smiled. Life had improved considerably since she had last visited. Bobby had received permission from the doctor to slowly get him more mobile. Bobby had promised that depending on how he felt later, he might be able to ride in a wheelchair for a trip out of the room.

Stephanie handed Hector his new cup. It read;

Good things come to those who wait

He smiled and handed it back to her to add to the others.

Bobby came into the room with a wheelchair. He was grinning.

"I was overruled by the Bomber here. She out maneuvered me and will be your partner for this mission. You have 15 minutes. We don't want to overdo it."

He helped Hector into the chair. Stephanie firmly took the handles and they headed out the door. Off-duty men were standing in the hallway talking. They fist bumped Hector as they rolled down the hallway. Stephanie didn't stop for visiting. She was on the clock. She headed for the open elevator, pushed the button and stopped on five. More men were waiting for them as they rolled out. Stephanie pushed the chair around the control room. Tank and Ranger walked out of their offices. They shook his hand and welcomed him back.

Tank handed him a schedule. Hector had been moved from Return to be Determined to short shifts in the electronics lab starting Monday. Hector smiled as he perused his timetable. He was anxious to see his station again.

Stephanie's watch beeped and it was time to head back. The elevator was waiting for them and swiftly took them back to four again. Bobby was waiting by Hector's room.

Bobby helped him out of the chair and into the bed. Stephanie gave him a kiss on the cheek and left the men.

Hector sighed. The small jaunt had tired him out. He would need to build up his endurance if he was going to get back into the swing of things. His eyes closed as Bobby headed for the door.

~~~o0o~~~

Eddie pulled up to Haywood. He was dressed in civilian clothes and driving his personal vehicle. He parked on the street and walked to the front reception area where Junior was manning the desk.

Junior placed a call to Ranger. Ranger and Tank walked out of the elevator on the main floor reception area. They shook hands and all three headed back into the opening. Ranger pressed two. They headed for a conference room where Ranger motioned for Eddie to take a chair and Tank closed the door.

Ranger spoke first. "I asked you to come this afternoon. Rangeman has been privy to some information and we want to gauge your impression. We want your opinion whether it is enough to officially take this to the police station for further action. "

He motioned to one file folder. Eddie picked it up and looked inside. In it were the pictures of the Ford, the empty rooms of the house, and the footprint. Eddie perused it carefully.

Next they showed him the cell phone purchase bill of sale, still encased in its protective baggie.

Next they showed him written submissions of the rental cars descriptions and license plate numbers that had been spotted in front of Morelli's house. All mention of Morelli was conspicuously removed.

They showed him transcribed taped conversations with respect to the purchased electronics, building materials and tool rental.

Finally, they showed him a picture of an SUV being loaded with suitcases and the back of someone climbing into the auto. They also showed a man taking a dog and supplies and putting them into his truck. Eddie didn't want to even guess how or why the pictures outside of the house were so clear.

So far, no faces had been shown and no names were mentioned.

Eddie recognized Bob, Mooch's truck and even the front of Morelli's house. He leaned back. He seemed to be considering his response.

He spoke. "A number of our members have also been busy. We have received some information from our contacts. We were surprised by the sudden departure of the person in question. Normally we are kept in the loop where they go and for how long so we can keep an eye on the house and the family."

Eddie paused. "I think I can safely say we are both looking at the same person. Joe Morelli has certainly been acting very strange lately. He seems almost driven with his hatred of Stephanie moving into the Rangeman building. He has been giving her a really bad time anytime he has seen her in the Burg. Frank has confirmed that Joe has been talking to Helen Plum. He has forbidden him to enter the house, but unfortunately Joe has phoned her a number of times. This has been confirmed by Edna on a number of occasions when Frank was out with the cab."

Eddie continued. "Joe spoke to Lenny, our electronics tech. He told him he was dabbling in photography and sound equipment. He told Lenny that he was practicing for a family reunion later in the year and wanted to make sure he would be getting the best candid shots and recordings."

Eddie looked from Ranger to Tank. Their next move would be confirmation and unfortunately they all thought that gaining entrance to Joe's house was the next step.

Eddie stood up. "I'll phone Mooch. He has a key. I think it is time to combine forces here. Do we need a Search Warrant or do you want to keep this quiet?"

Ranger considered the question. "This has gone past just a simple jealousy matter. There has been serious allegations made and unfortunately both Stephanie and also Rangeman are affected."

Eddie nodded. "I'll be in touch. I will call the Chief and appraise him of the situation. Would you be willing to co-investigate?"

Ranger nodded. They had done what they could and they had to wait on the official word before they could legally make the next step.

Tank handed Eddie a folder. Rangeman had made a copy of everything they had obtained. Eddie shook his head sadly. He was dealing with both a friend and a co-worker who had crossed the line.

They walked out of the room and headed for the elevator. The elevator was waiting and swiftly moved down one floor to the reception area. Ranger and Tank shook hands with Eddie again and watched as he walked out to his car, climbed in and drove away. They had done their job. Now they had to be patient and wait for the other shoe to drop.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Tank received a call he had been waiting for. They dressed carefully, revealing no identifying marks on their clothing.

Ranger, Tank, Les and Bobby climbed into one of the vehicles. Another vehicle was waiting with Ram, Woody, Hal and Cal inside.

They pulled out of the garage. Everyone was in their zone preparing for the task at hand. The men hoped there would be complete surprise and no gunfire to deal with.

They pulled up to an old house. The lights were off. As if on cue, the men put on balaclavas to hide their faces. Silently they moved from the vehicles and surrounded the house. There were no sentries to deal with. On Ranger's signal both the front and back doors were lock picked open and the men crept silently into the house. There were obvious signs of a party now over. Beer bottles, pizza boxes, half empty bowls of chips, and ashtrays overflowing with all manner of butts gave the room a sickly, sweet, boozy aroma. Matched with body sweat and some other disgusting smells it looked like a frat house gone viral. Gang members were sleeping on mattresses, couches or curled up on the floor and groggily woke to guns pointed at their heads. They were cuffed with flexi cuffs, tape covered their mouths and blindfolds covered their eyes. Woody and Hal stood guard as the rest of the men crept silently up the stairs. No words had been spoken as the men moved through the house using hand signals as their only communication.

Guns drawn, the men exploded into the master bedroom. The gang leader was fast asleep in bed and woke to a bag being dropped over his head and his booze sodden body dragged off the bed onto the floor where he was quickly cuffed. Quickly four men grabbed an arm or leg and proceeded to move him down the stairs. He was dumped in the back of an Escape and the vehicle sped off. Cal came down the stairs, looked into the room holding the gang members cuffed and gagged and pulled out his burned phone. He called Trenton Police and reported that there were a number of wanted fugitives hiding in a house, gave the address and hung up. Many of them had outstanding warrants and would be put back into the system. Dominic sat quietly in the room with the others. He too was cuffed, gagged and blindfolded. He hoped that nobody would ever find out he had made the call.

The garage door lifted and the two vehicles pulled in. Doors opened and men converged on the back of the vehicle carrying their target. They dragged him out of the vehicle and hustled him to a holding cell.

The target was groggy, but his mouth was working overtime. Unfortunately, he didn't fit through doorways well and had come into contact with door jambs, boots and the odd fist as he was moved.

His feet were shackled to the chair in the room, the cuffs were inspected and tightened , the blindfold was removed and he was left alone in the dark. Binkie was standing guard outside the door. He heard curses, and chains rattling as the man struggled.

Tank stood outside the cell and listened to the cursing. Ranger came down the stairs and together they strode into the cell. Binkie turned on one small light. The shadows in the room gave off an ominous aura.

Ranger walked to the prisoner. He stood directly in his line of sight. Skin, as he liked to call himself, was dressed in boxers only. His body was covered with tattoos and piercings. He was still struggling against the restraints, but his attitude had kicked into gear.

He looked at Ranger. "What the hell. This is my turf and I run it my way. You won't be keeping this quiet esse, and you will be in for a world of hurt when my boys find you.

Ranger smiled. The smile did not reach his eyes. His fist connected with Skin's jaw. He rocked back but the chair was anchored firmly to the floor. Ranger took another swing. This time he connected with Skin's left eye.

"Nobody hurts my man and gets away with it. You need to be more aware of your surroundings, mi amigo. You need to show respect. We believe in dispensing Rangeman Justice. By the time we finish with you, you won't be leading anything. You will be lucky to be able to ask for directions out of town. "

Ranger stepped back. Tank moved forward. He balled his fist and let it fly. Once again, the chair strained from the force. Skin now had a split lip. Tank threw one more fist. This time he aimed for the ribs. "You are a cobarde. You hide behind others to do your dirty work."

Skin groaned. He suspected he now had at least one broken rib. It hurt to breathe. He looked at Ranger. One eye was already beginning to swell shut and blood dripped down his chin. He attempted to spit but the effort failed miserably. Ranger laughed and turned his back.

Ranger walked to the door and opened it. He motioned for Tank to follow. They left the room and noticed a long line of men waiting.

Ranger spoke. "Everyone gets two hits but you will not kill him. You have one hour."

They noticed Hector standing in line. He was fully dressed leaning heavily on crutches. Ranger looked at Tank. He had a feeling that at least one of his orders might be disobeyed tonight.

They walked away. The cell door opened and closed.

OOOOOOO

Cobarde - coward


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Frank received a phone call and he immediately headed to Morelli's house. Stephanie was sitting in the Turbo outside the house with Ranger.

Eddie, Big Dog, and Carl were standing outside the house. The Chief was talking to Mooch who was looking at some papers now in his hand.

The Chief looked around and nodded.

Ranger climbed out of the car. He went around and opened the door. Stephanie stepped out but she was looking very pale. Frank walked over to her and gave her a comforting hug. He whispered in her ear and she nodded.

Mooch unlocked the door. He stood back near Frank as he watched the men enter. They had not been invited to enter and waited patiently on the sidewalk. The neighbors up and down the street had gravitated to little groups outside and watched with interest. Mooch could see cell phones and cordless phones in their hands. The grapevine would be humming soon.

Cautiously both police and Rangeman entered the little hallway. They looked around. It appeared that everything was in its place. The men paired up. One TPD and one Rangeman checked each room, both main floor and upstairs but nothing out of the ordinary raised their suspicions. It looked like Joe had left suddenly with little notice except to pack. The men gravitated to the basement door off the kitchen.

The police stood back. They were not trained to investigate electronically controlled situations. The Bomb Squad was on stand-by.

Danny stepped forward. He was holding a tool bag in his hand. He carefully slid a mirror under the door and turned on the downstairs light. There were no wires attached to the door knob.

Danny carefully opened the door. He flashed his light around the jamb, taking into account any hidden wires or cameras. One tiny camera sat high in a corner positioned to take pictures of anyone coming through the door.

Danny looked at the unit. This was a special wireless surveillance camera with a large battery pack for extended use. He reached up and plucked it off the wall turning it off. He placed it carefully on the kitchen counter.

Next he carefully checked the walls and stairway. They appeared to be clear. He moved down the stairs taking one slow step at a time, checking each step, the surrounding wall and under and around the railing. He reached the bottom of the stairs. He shone his mirror around the last stair before attempting to set foot on the basement floor. There was a small unit nestled in a corner of the stair stringer which looked like a simple motion sensor.

Danny traced the wire to a control panel under the stair. He stepped back and up the stairs and sat down on one of the stairs. He motioned for Carl to hold him by the belt of his cargos and leaned over and under the stairway. Carl grunted with the effort. Danny flashed his flashlight around and checked with the mirror again. He had a bead of sweat on his brow. It didn't look too elaborate, but looks could be deceiving. Danny had been trained by the best of the best but his gut said Joe was not out to injure. He grimaced as he snipped a wire. No secondary charge went off. He motioned to Carl and was pulled back.

Danny motioned that everyone was to stay back and crept down the stairs once again. He gingerly stepped on the floor. Nothing flashed, or exploded.

Everyone came slowly down the stairs. Stephanie hung back at the top of the stairs.

The men spread out and checked the basement. There was the usual hot water tank and furnace. There was a work shelf with a few tools laying haphazardly on the counter. There was a tiny tv on a shelf but the electrical plug was not in any outlet. There was a tiny beer fridge in the corner and upon opening it up, the men found it full of beer.

The men looked at a room in the corner. They could see a lot of electrical wire, cable wire and fibre optic wire running along the rafters and disappearing into the room. Danny stopped by Ranger.

Ranger looked at Tank who nodded. Ranger turned to Danny. "Have you field tested your unit in a real life situation?"

Danny shook his head no. He had been waiting for an opportunity to try her out. He pulled out his phone. He called Rangeman control.

Woody answered. Danny spoke quickly. "Who's available to bring out my new pet? Anybody else? Tell him it is in my room on the shelf. Please bring it, the control unit and the portable screen. Tell him to be careful. Yeah. Thanks man."

Everyone relaxed. It would only be a few minutes.

There was a sound of footsteps in the living room. The men watched as Manny came down the stairs. He had in his arms the unit, console and screen. His face was set in a grimace. He had been the only person available. He wished now that he had taken the day off.

Danny took the little unit and held it lovingly. He patted it on its head. He turned his back on the men and appeared to speak to it then he put it on the ground. He took the controller from Manny but left him holding the kindle-sized screen.

Danny nodded to Ranger. Ranger looked at Joe Juniak then walked to the door. He took out a tool and swiftly picked the lock. Carefully he opened the door.

Danny wiggled the controls and the unit moved forward. One leg at a time lifted and inched forward. It reached the doorway. Danny stopped his toy and made the head move left and right. It raised its head and swung its head side to side again. Danny was watching the screen in Manny's hand. The camera eyes had picked up wires just off the floor. Danny inched the unit forward. He stopped it at the first wire. Carefully he toggled the leg to lift and stepped over the wire. Danny moved the next leg, then inched it forward and the back legs lifted one at a time and moved over the wire. Danny touched the controller stick and the eyes looked around once more. It scanned the walls slowly. Nothing seemed to stand out. It moved forward again moving steadily into the room. Once again Danny made it stop. By the desk was a beam. This time Danny made it crouch down and move slowly under the tiny beam.

Danny stood it up. He had the unit sweep the walls slowly while watching carefully on the screen. Manny looked on fascinated. Nothing else had been found. Danny stopped the unit.

He looked at Ranger and Ranger nodded. He motioned for Ram to come forward. Ram was explosive trained and moved to watch as Danny asked the unit to swivel its head around again. Ram watched where the beam stopped on the wall and checked where the wire was attached. He stepped over the wire and moved to turn off the beam and secure the wire. He dismantled them both and stepped further into the room. He went to a control panel situated by a large desk and shut down the power. There was a recorder screwed to the wall by the panel. . Ram unscrewed the unit and took it out of the room and up the stairs.

The Chief and police officers then walked into the room. There were whistles and muttered curses. The Chief finally called in Ranger. He stepped to the door and motioned for Tank to join him. Tank could be heard talking to Big Dog and Ranger was speaking to Joe Juniak. Ranger walked out of the room and looked up at Stephanie. She was still at the top of the stairs gripping the rail so hard you could see her white knuckles. Ranger walked up the stairs to her side. He held his hand out. Stephanie hesitated then grasped his hand tightly in hers. She carefully stepped down the stairs looking from side to side.

She muttered, "There are no spiders. There are no spiders. There are no spiders. There are no spiders." She stepped to the door hesitantly. He held her hand as she entered the room.

On the walls were enlarged pictures, newspaper articles dating from the day she moved into Rangeman, and hanging on a large screw the engagement ring that she had given back to him oh so long ago. A pair of her panties was tacked to the wall beside the ring. It was black and embroidered with the Rangeman emblem. There were pictures of babies with cut outs of Joe and Stephanie's faces glued on, a church with a bride and groom that looked like Joe and Stephanie, day care brochures with future openings and elementary school schedules sitting on the desk. A tiny pair of baby booties hung on the inside of the door knob. There was a large pile of folders full of papers sitting on the edge of the desk. Stephanie stumbled out of the room and ran up the stairs.

Ranger shook his head and ran up the stairs after her. She was sitting outside on the front step. Tears ran down her cheeks. She was holding her arms wrapped tightly around herself. Frank was sitting on the step with her as her body shook with sobs. He had his arm around her and she laid her head against his shoulder.

Frank looked at Ranger standing on the narrow sidewalk. He gently pulled Stephanie to her feet and walked her over to Ranger. Ranger wrapped his arms around Stephanie and rocked her gently. He rubbed his hand up and down her back soothingly and whispered in her ear. Her tears stained his black shirt and she sagged against his chest and wept as her arms moved up to wrap themselves around his neck.

Ranger stood comforting his Babe. He promised to himself that he would eventually find Joe. It might take awhile, but Ranger was confident of his tracking abilities. He was out there somewhere. He vowed that Joe would pay. The time for working alongside the police was over. It was now very, very personal.

Trenton Police Officers came and went. They were taking boxes of evidence out of the house and putting them in a van. Rangeman stood guard watching the proceedings. Finally all the material appeared to have been removed from the house. Joe Juniak stood patiently watching until the van left. He then walked over to the Turbo.

Ranger stepped out of the car, walked around and stood by the Chief. They both looked at Stephanie sleeping curled up in the front seat. She had slipped into Denial Land some time ago. Joe Juniak sighed. He felt responsible somehow. One of his officers had stooped so low to try to obtain what he mistakenly thought was his. He felt bad for his friend, Frank. He suspected that he would be having a heart to heart chat with him soon. He hoped their friendship would survive.

Joe looked at Stephanie curled up in the passenger seat. She had tear tracks running down her cheeks, even in sleep. She was curled in a fetal position as if protecting herself from harm. He wanted to open the car door and cradle her in his arms, trying to protect her from an evil world. As her godfather, he had vowed to protect her with everything in his power but at this particular moment he felt that he had failed her at her most vulnerable moment.

Joe looked at Ranger. "I can assure you that this will be dealt with, with the full co-operation of The Trenton Police Service. We will be in touch as soon as we can document all the evidence and agree on charges against Joseph Morelli. As of this moment, he will be put on Administrative Leave Pending investigation. Unfortunately our hands were tied and we were unable to move faster. I fear that the time spent getting permission to act gave him the necessary time to disappear."

He looked thoughtful. "In my honest opinion after quickly seeing the inside of that room, I am more inclined to believe that Joe needs psychological help more than anything. I doubt we will find much in the way of serious criminal activity, but there is certainly enough evidence to charge him with various offenses. I will attempt to contact the branch that he was supposedly assigned to. I suspect that his sudden departure had more to do with calling in a favor than a true undercover insertion."

Joe looked around carefully. He spoke softly to Ranger. "There are times I wish we could move without the law hampering our every move. That being said, we will be detailing this investigation very, very, carefully. Unfortunately, you may think we are dragging our feet. Sometimes it pays to know someone who can circumvent some of our more tedious laws."

Joe looked at the number of Rangemen still in attendance. He looked back at Ranger. "I will endeavor to keep you in the loop on the ongoing investigation. It is my hope that you will reciprocate with any details you wish to forward our way."

Ranger looked at Joe. Many things had just been said. Many things had been left unsaid. He nodded and walked back to the car. He put his shades down over his eyes, slid behind the wheel of the Turbo and sped off.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Life was returning to normal at Rangeman. A number of accounts had returned. The vehicles on patrol were not being pelted with eggs anymore. The Trenton Times had published a front page apology taking responsibility for publishing articles without proper verification of facts.

The Rangeman attorney, J. J. was busy preparing his case for some serious lawsuits. He was confident that he would be successful on all accounts. His nickname when he was in Rangers was Shark and seemed to suit him. Ranger was looking forward to seeing if the lawsuits would make it to court or settled out of sight of Trenton eyes.

He had personally spoken to the two young constables. They were subdued and very apologetic when they had met with Ranger and Stephanie. Stephanie had instantly put them at ease with her easy-going manner and told them she forgave them. They did not know either Ranger or herself as neither had come into the police station for many months. Brian had set up the meeting. At the same time, he had once again apologized for jumping in without proper background information. It was a lesson he took seriously. He firmly believed that he would make inspector eventually but the memory of this episode would remain with him for the rest of his career.

~~~o0o~~~

Hector walked carefully with his crutches. His doctor had said his cast would be removed soon. He headed for the conference room as he had a visitor coming.

Tank drove into the garage. He slid out of the truck and motioned his passenger to the elevator.

They headed for the open door of the conference room. Hector was already sitting there.

Dominic walked cautiously into the room. He stood by the now closed door undecided what to do next. Hector rose to his feet, put his crutches under his arms and stumped his way over. He let one crutch go and held out his right hand.

Dominic shook his hand and Hector gestured to a chair. They both sat down. He stared at Hector. There was now a third teardrop under his eye.

Tank stayed outside, guarding the room. He wondered how Dominic would take the offer Hector was about to drop on him.

Rangeman had secured a spot in a trade school out of state for Dominic. He could start next month. Until then, he would stay in an apartment on four near Hector's apartment. He had no family in the area and would not be missed. There would be word placed on the street that he had fled and was heading to Canada. He had been born there but raised in the States. He had commented a number of times that he had family who owned an auto dealership up north and they could always use the help.

~~~o0o~~~

Tank stood by the door. His cell phone rang and he flipped it open. On the line was the voice of an angel.

"Tankie, my man. How are you?"

Tank smiled as he leaned against the wall. He whispered in the phone. "Hi, Baby Doll. I missed you."

Lula giggled. She dropped her voice to a seductive level. "I know you have been busy but what are your plans for tonight?"

Tank sighed and shifted his weight against the wall. "Lula, I'm offline for the next two days. Remember that little inn in the mountains? There were waterfalls, and flower gardens, and a zoo down the road. They had king sized beds and in-room Jacuzzi tubs. They had that awesome buffet. Do you think you would like to go with me?"

His heart soared as Lula purred in his ear.

~~~o0o~~~

Les looked over the final results of the egg toss. Al had sent over the final tally. He would announce the winner at Friday's beer and pizza party at Shorty's. The trophy was now in his office safe wrapped in a protective covering. It was an egg sitting on a pedestal. Les had just picked up the trophy with the winner's names etched into the base.

Les walked to Stephanie's cubicle. She was working with her earphones plugged in. He stood by her chair. She didn't acknowledge his presence so he tapped her on the shoulder.

Stephanie jumped and took her ear pieces out of her ears. She appeared startled. "You scared the hell out of me, Les."

Les was holding a wrapped package in his hand. He smiled.

"I saw this and instantly thought of you, Beautiful. I hope you like it."

Stephanie took the package. Everyone had stopped working and were peeking over their cubicle walls. Ranger and Tank had come out of their offices.

Stephanie carefully unwrapped the tissue paper. "Santos!," she yelled. She jumped up and took off after Les. He was laughing until he saw the stun gun in her hand.

"I'm going to kill you Les and NOBODYwill ever find your body!"

They thundered down the stairs.

The men sidled over to the present laying on the desk. It was a t-shirt.

It read :

I FEEL WHORE-IBLE

**Last chapter tomorrow. Myrna**


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Epilogue

Joe woke up. He had been feeling uneasy for a number of days. He had been unable to put his finger on what might be bothering him. Life was good and he liked his job. He liked the small town traditional feel as he went about his business. He was seeing a young woman who he thought might figure in his future nicely.

Joe dressed in his Deputy's uniform. He looked in the mirror. Six months ago he had arrived and quickly fit into the job, the dating scene and the landscape. He loved the openness of the country. He had met some new friends and was enjoying participating in community basketball, baseball and socializing.

Joe headed for breakfast at the small town coffee shop. Maggie saw him drive up to the front and had his coffee and donut ready. He gave her a smile and let his hand slide over hers. They had a date booked for later tonight. He finished his breakfast and stood up. She walked him to the door and gave him a gentle kiss on the lips. There were a number of cat calls and snide remarks as he grinned and looked back.

He climbed into his car and prepared for another day travelling the interstate and the state roads looking to waylay any trouble on his turf. He received a call from Central asking him to head to the main office for a meeting. Joe turned his car around and headed in. Calls of this nature usually turned out to be a request for additional manpower on a takedown.

Joe pulled into the precinct lot and parked in the employee parking lot. He exited the car and strode in the main door. Standing in the waiting room were Brian Smith and Henry Booker. They looked at Joe. He stopped then looked back at the door. Tank had silently come in and was standing with his arms crossed and a blank face. Joe gulped.

The Sherriff came out of his office with a sheaf of papers in his hand. Behind him Ranger walked out and Stephanie followed. Each had their best blank faces on, but the Sherriff's face was clenched in anger. He watched as Brian and Henry walked up to Joe.

Brian spoke. "Joseph Morelli, I'm placing you under arrest for Extortion, Fraud, Harassment, Illegally Obtaining Financial Records, Breach of Ethics and Conduct Unbecoming an Officer of the Law. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a Court of Law."

Henry took Joe's sidearm out of the holster, and spun him around quickly forcing him to place his hands on the counter and legs spread apart while frisking him for more weapons. He quickly cuffed him behind his back, adding a bit extra pressure on the cuffs. Joe winced. Henry handed Joe's cuffs, radio, car keys, ticket book and policeman's notebook to the constable at the desk.

The Sherriff walked up to Joe and looked him in the eye. "I have never been so disgusted to hear what you are accused of, "Joe". I thought you were a good officer. You had made a good name for yourself in Big Sandy. Word will get out what you are being charged with. I feel sorry for Maggie. She is a nice lady and doesn't deserve to hear what you did. I hope you rot in jail, but if you ever get out, do not even think of returning to Montana." The Sherriff then put his hand on one of Joe's Sherriff Department shoulder flashes and ripped it off his shirt. He moved to the other side and repeated the action. He also unhooked the badge from Joe's front shirt pocket. He held them between his thumb and forefinger like they were a diseased piece of meat, and walked into his office closing the door behind him.

Ranger and Stephanie looked at Joe. They had said nothing to this point. Joe looked at Stephanie. She had a certain glow about her that he couldn't ignore. He noticed the rings on her left hand. He also noticed what looked like a small baby bump. He shook his head.

He felt himself being led outside and to a car by the front door. He was placed in the back seat and Henry sat beside him. Another Sherriff's Deputy slid behind the wheel and Brian sat up front. Joe slumped in the seat as far as the seatbelt would allow. He was well and truly screwed this time.

They pulled up to a plane on the edge of a private runway. Joe was led to the steps and looked back. He saw Tank in a big black SUV come to a stop and climb out. He opened the back door and Stephanie stepped out. Ranger had already jumped out and was waiting to take her hand in his. Joe walked up the steps into the plane with Henry and Brian following. He stopped at the door. There was a little plaque screwed into the wall as he walked in. It said. "Property of Rangeman Enterprises". He shook his head and headed to the area pointed out to him. He was fitted with a waist belt with wrist restraints to hold his hands on each side, uncuffed from behind his back and re-cuffed, told to sit down and was securely fastened in with a three-part seatbelt. He was then leg shackled to the floor. Henry and Brian sat down facing him. Nothing had been spoken. Really, what was there to say?

Ranger and Stephanie walked onto the plane and past Joe holding hands. They headed to the back of the plane and closed the connecting door. Tank closed and locked the outer door then used the intercom phone and signalled the pilot to prepare to leave. He sat down in a chair by the closed pilot's door. The planes' engines fired up and the plane started to roll. It lifted off smoothly and headed back to Trenton. The Trenton Police Department would meet the plane and then transport the prisoner to their building.

Joe pondered his future. Would he get bail? He took one look at Tank and thought out his options. He suspected that if he did make bail, he would be tailed by Rangeman until the trial. Maybe he should refuse bail. He felt safer somehow if he was behind bars.

All too soon the plane began its descent. It rolled to a stop. Tank moved to the door and proceeded to unlock it from the inside. He released the steps. Joe looked out the window and viewed a number of police cars and black SUV's waiting.

Brian and Henry stood up. Brian took up a security position as Henry unlocked the leg shackles and the seatbelt. Henry stepped back. "Ok, Joe, stand up."

Joe had just risen awkwardly to his feet with Henry holding onto his elbow and was preparing to walk to the front of the plane when the door at the back of the plane opened.

Stephanie and Ranger stepped out of the back room. She glanced at Ranger then walked up to Joe. She looked at him. "You ran but you couldn't hide forever. Ranger found you over a month ago. He asked me what I wanted to happen to you, Joe. There is a lot of barren land in Montana. You could easily have disappeared and nobody would have ever found your body. You aren't going to get away that easy, Joe. You are going to stand trial for what you did, what you planned and what you hoped to do to ruin our lives."

She stopped for an instant. Then she added, "After you get out of prison you will get to hear what people really think of you now, Joe. I feel sorry for your family. I even feel sorry for you. I hope you get the help you need. Good-bye, Joe."

With that, she walked to the door of the plane, down the steps into a waiting vehicle, and out of his life forever.

The End

**I want to thank many people. Thank you Janet Evanovich for your exciting characters. They are so fun to play with but I was told I had to give them back to you. Thanks Megan for your wicked yellow computer pen. You made this story so much better with your input and timely suggestions. Also, thank you readers for your wonderful and insightful reviews. As in the past, I need to clear my head, and think of something else. Myrna**


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